Rayearth and the Legend Continues
by laminarose
Summary: Umi getting married? Fuu, depressed and alone? Hikaru still a virgin? These and many more suprises await you as the girls are flung back into Cephiro with three hot guys from Tokyo...gasp! FF, UC, HL and many more hook-ups. R&R PLEASE!
1. A Dream of Cephiro

Hello again. Decided the chapters (i am told they are called 'chappies', which is hilarious) were entirely too long and perhaps that was why no one was reading. So, same story, smaller chappies and a little bit extra at the end. I like it, but I need affirmation. So review! REVIEW GODAMMIT! and tell me what should happen next cause I usually don't know and that's why I don't often update. Its a win win situation, you get more fanfiction and I get more ideas. - laminarose

p.s. read atsuibelulah's Twin Roses, it's good and she's my sister.

She was dreaming. She knew she was. It was easy to tell. For one thing, she was in her junior high school uniform. Another, every thing was dark and, of all people, Clef was standing in front of her, about five yards away. He looked odd, not at all how she remembered him. He said, "How long has it been?"

"Seven years, maybe," she replied.

"A long time, Umi . . . Umi . . . Umi . . . "

She started awake. Someone was shaking her. "Umi, it's almost time for my first class," Kakeru said.

"Oh," she blinked the dust from her eyes, "Oh, Kakeru, I'm sorry I didn't make any breakfast!" He jumped onto the bed and she got out of the way just in time. He leaned over and pecked her face, just missing her mouth.

"It's okay, sweet, I did."

She smiled, "And you call me sweet." She stood up and stretched. As she dressed, Kakeru called in from the small kitchen in the split level house that served as home and work for him. "I attempted your home made biscuits or whatever they are."

"Cakes!"

"What!"

"They're cakes," she said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Okay cakes. I haven't tried any yet." They sat down at the table together and waited for one another to start. "I'm not tasting first," he declared.

"You made them," she shot back.

"Yeah, I made them for you."

"Okay, let's both take a bite at the same time." They each took a large bite and looked at each other. Kakeru spat his out first, but she forced herself to swallow. He _had_ tried.

He laughed, "Let's just say that you cook everything from now on."

She nodded, "And if I'm not awake, order out. I don't want you accidentally poisoning yourself or something." He laughed again and for a moment they both sat, just staring at each other. Until, "Master Shidou, are you home?" A voice called from the level above the apartment.

"Oh, the class," he called up to the boy, "Yes, I'm coming!"

"It's entirely too early for kendo," she said matter-of-factly.

"It's a living," he shrugged and gave her a huge wet kiss. He ran to their room to get his equipment and she called after him, "Captain, Hikaru, and Fuu are coming to go over some things for the wedding, but I'll make sure they come in the back way"

"You could send my little sister up there. I'm sure she could give them some pointers."

"No, sir, it's strictly wedding business today."

"Dammit," he said smiling and ran up the stairs.

Umi had just finished making some tea and setting out the book of cake pictures when Fuu knocked tentatively at the door. "Miss Umi!" she called.

Umi came out of the kitchen and set the tea on the table. "Oh, hi, Fuu. Captain's going to be a little late. Have you heard anything from Hikaru? She's always early."

"Ummm, Hikaru's not coming," Fuu answered as she moved over to the table.

Umi looked up sharply and then scowled, "You know, we can't fix this if we don't talk to each other."

"I know. And I tried to tell her that. Maybe she needs a few days."

"Maybe," Umi sighed as she sat down. She continued, "I really don't want to do this without her though."

"Hikaru didn't come, did she?" a voice asked from the doorway that came from the little garden in the back.

"No."

"I wish that you would tell me what this is about. You guys never fight," Captain, Shiori Okamura and Umi's old junior high school fencing team captain, said as she entered. Though they hadn't gone to the same high school, the two women had kept in touch and were now studying the same thing in college, elementary education.

Umi and Fuu looked at each other. Fuu opened her mouth to reply, but Umi came in quicker, "It's about something that happened to us a long time ago that Hikaru doesn't want to let go of. I have let it go, and she just doesn't understand." She stood up and paced over to the door that the two of them had entered by. "You'd think she would be happy."

"It's not that she isn't happy," Fuu tried to explain, "She's confused. I think that she wants to let go of Lantis, but doesn't know how. And now that you've taken a big step and agreed to marry someone, she's a little . . . ," Fuu hesitated there, not sure how to explain feelings that weren't her own.

"It's nice of you Fuu, but I really want to hear it from Hikaru." Umi smiled somewhat tiredly, "If you guys don't mind, I uh, I really don't want to do this today." They both nodded. "I'll call you when I'm free again," she said as they left. She heard the familiar noises of Kakeru's beginner class, went to her room, and fell asleep to them.

* * *

"A long time, Umi." Clef was there, in her dreams again. 

"Yes." And for the first time Umi noticed something behind him.

"Umi?"

"Yes, Clef?"

"Did you love me?"

"Yes, Clef."

"Do you love me now?"

"In a way. But not in the way I used to." The entity, the darkness behind him seemed to have eyes that watched them.

"Why not?" And a mouth that smiled as if their conversation was funny. It wasn't. She thought it was disturbing.

"Because I'm not fourteen any more."

"What does that have to do with it?" He was like a child; it seemed, so dazed and confused. This disturbed Umi even more.

"I'm not the same person I was then."

"Why not?"

"It's been _seven years_, Clef!" she shouted, finally shaken from the spell that had somehow been cast over her.

"A long time, Umi . . . Umi . . . Umi . . . "

* * *

Kakeru was calling her from the practice mat on the lower level. She sat up, "Yeah?" He walked into the room, "Oh, I didn't know you were in here." He put his equipment down. He didn't have another class for about two hours. He looked confused as he asked, "Did you go to sleep?" She nodded. "What happened to the wedding planning party?"

Umi flopped over and talked into the pillow, "They couldn't come."

"You mean Hikaru couldn't, or wouldn't come. Sweet, are you crying!"

"No," she said quickly and sat up to wipe her eyes. Kakeru made her face him and did it for her.

"What is this about?" he asked staring into her eyes.

"It's not just the Hikaru thing. I, I just had a very strange dream, and I haven't had my . . . I mean, I skipped a period."

"You mean . . ."

"No, I don't mean. I don't know. And if I am it couldn't have come at a worse time," she freed herself from him and started pacing, "I still have school to finish, and we aren't married yet. I just don't know." She looked at him and saw worry.

"Umi, you aren't yourself. You hardly ever worry like this, and I know I'm not supposed to know, but you are irregular when it comes to that. What is wrong?"

She sighed, "Kakeru, let's just drop it. What time is it?"

"Ten o' clock."

"Ugh, I have a class in a half an hour. That's just enough time to get there if I walk quickly."

"Oh. Umi, do you want to go to dinner tonight?"

She looked at him. He was so sweet and he really cared for her. "Umi?" he said expectantly.

She burst out, "Kakeru, you know it kills me that I can't tell you what it is we're fighting about."

"Yes, but I want to know why you can't tell me."

"Me, Hikaru, and Fuu all agreed it wouldn't be . . . wise if we told anyone. Don't you understand?" she sighed and sat down next to him, "I want you to know that it doesn't have anything to do with you. It's between me and Hikaru. And Fuu's right if it weren't for this one thing Hikaru would be so happy that we're getting married."

"Well, that makes me feel much better," he spat sarcastically.

"I'm trying you know," she pleaded. "This isn't easy for me either!"

"Really? Then why don't you just tell me?"

"Because you wouldn't believe me if I did."

"That's a stupid reason," he said in disbelief.

She was confused.

"How do you know I won't believe you?"

This was a good question and Umi didn't know the answer. "I told you, let's drop it." And she stalked out of the room and out of the house to go to her class.


	2. Hikaru Gets Her Wish

Hikaru looked at her calendar and jumped. It was the day, the anniversary of the day that they were summoned to Cephiro. Usually she looked forward to this day but, she didn't even know if it was appropriate this year. Umi was betraying Clef. She was pledging her life to another man. It didn't matter if it was Hikaru's own brother or not. It didn't matter that Umi and Clef had never actually told each other of their love for one another. Their love was understood by Hikaru and Fuu and every one else in Cephiro.

Hikaru had remained loyal. After she and Lantis had declared their love to one another she had been constant. And because she had never said to Lantis, "I'm probably not going to be coming back another time, so maybe for the sake of sanity we should call this true love quits," she had never touched another man. Celibate for seven years. Twenty-one and still a virgin. And Hikaru knew that she would be steadfast until she could be in Lantis' arms again or _he _could tell her that he loved her no longer. It was the day, and Hikaru knew that she had to talk to Umi.

She came to the door on the upper level as Kakeru was leaving. "Hikaru!" he said startled.

"Kakeru. Hi. Umm, I need to talk to Umi. Is she home?"

"Uh, yeah, she's in the kitchen. I'm just going to the supermarket. I'll probably be back in fifteen minutes. I . . . I hope you guys work this out."

She smiled and patted his shoulder appreciatively, "I hope so too, Kakeru." And she went inside. Umi was in the kitchen where Kakeru had said she would be. She obviously thought that Hikaru was Kakeru because after she looked up the smile she was wearing faded.

"Today's the day," Hikaru stated simply.

"I didn't forget," she said defensively.

"I didn't think you did!"

"Hikaru, what are you doing here?"

Hikaru studied the tile floor for a while then looked up and studied Umi. There were dark circles under her eyes and she just seemed tired. "Hey, Umi, you don't look too good."

Umi sighed then smiled in resignation,"Ah, Hikaru. I haven't been sleeping to well lately."

Hikaru looked down again and asked quietly, "Worried about the wedding?"

"No, no. I've been having some weird dreams."

"Dreams?" she asked sharply.

Umi's eyes widened as she put together what Hikaru just had.

"They're about Cephiro aren't they?" she accused. Umi stood up quickly and walked into the dining room. "Umi!" Hikaru nearly shouted.

"Yes! Yes, Hikaru, they're about Cephiro."

"Don't you remember what happened the last time one of us had dreams about Cephiro?"

"Oh, God, Hikaru! Get it through your head we're not going back!"

"Why not? Why couldn't we go back?"

"Hikaru," Umi said more gently, "We fixed the problem. You fixed it. The people of Cephiro don't need a pillar anymore. And that means they don't need us."

Hikaru didn't have a response to that, it made perfect sense, but she still couldn't admit it, or believe it. "So, I guess you don't want to go to Tokyo Tower today, huh."

"Who said that?" Umi said as she reached for the phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"Fuu."

"Why?"

"So that we can go to Tokyo Tower and meet her," Umi answered. "Hi, Fuu? Hi, today's the day. Yeah. No, I want to go. Hikaru's here, we'll meet you there. Okay, bye."

Hikaru was bewildered, "You _want_ to go to Tokyo Tower?"

Just then Kakeru came in, with a brown paper bag filled with groceries in his arms. "Who's going to Tokyo Tower?" he asked.

"We are," Umi replied.

"Oh, let me get my jacket. Got kind of chilly out."

Umi smiled, "You know what I meant, Hikaru and me."

"Yeah, but can I come?"

"I don't see why not. You aren't really getting your jacket are you? It's April," Umi responded before Hikaru could even open her mouth.

"No, I'm not," he said as he set the groceries down in the kitchen and offered Umi his arm. "What's wrong with your face, Hikaru?"

"Just a little confused is all," she replied. Then after a few moments of thought, "Hey! What do you mean what's wrong with my face!" And she ran to catch up with them.

* * *

As they entered the observation deck of Tokyo Tower, Hikaru noticed a group of school girls that looked to be in junior high. She sighed at the memories of a time when she and Umi and Fuu were that same age. In the lead was a young man of about Kakeru's age. "Hey! Isn't that Yasuo?" remembering who he was.

"Oh yeah," Kakeru recalled, "He said something about a field trip today."

"They always went to the same places, over and over," Hikaru observed.

"That is so cute, you know," Umi gushed. "The fact that he's a junior high school teacher, it's just so sweet."

Kakeru pretended jealousy, "Well, why don't you go and marry him if he's so sweet."

"Kakeru, you know I don't like sweet things!" she joked as she jabbed him in the stomach

Hikaru waited impatiently for them to quit flirting when she spotted Fuu. She walked over to the window railing and touched Fuu lightly on the shoulder. "Miss Hikaru!" Fuu exclaimed, startled despite Hikaru's efforts. Hikaru smiled and they stood silently. After a short while Umi joined them. They stood together for what seemed to them like ages, remembering all of the people and places they had met and seen. Clef, Presea, Ascot, Caldina, Lafarga, Lantis, Eagle, Ferio, Emeraude and Zagato, Aska, Tarta and Tatra. The Forest of Silence, The spring of Eterna, the shrines of the rune gods, Clef's palace, _Cephiro_. They remembered all of these people and things and much, much more. Hikaru couldn't contain it any longer. "I want to go back!" she exploded, quietly. Fuu sighed as if in agreement. But Umi looked pained.

"The reason," she said tremulously, "The reason I don't want to go back is because I've found a life here, in our own world. I'm happy. I don't want to go back because I'm afraid of hurting those I left behind. And I don't want to lose what I have here." She looked to her friends for understanding.

Fuu smiled compassionately. And Hikaru kept her eyes down as she said hesitantly, "I think I understand, Umi. No, I know I do," she looked at Umi with tears in her eyes. "I know you love my brother, and I'm so sorry if I've hurt you or him because I refused to understand before." They fell into each other and hugged fiercely.

A few moments later Kakeru and Yasuo walked up to them. Yasuo's girls had distributed themselves around the deck and he was free to roam himself. "I'm glad you three have worked things out," Kakeru said sincerely. They all smiled just as another young man walked up and stood next to their group, his eyes gazed at the view of the city but darted back to their group every few moments. He was of fairly average height, had dark, dirty blonde hair, and was wearing a dark blue shirt, jeans and a brown leather jacket.

Suddenly, he grabbed Fuu, clamped his hand over her mouth and put a switchblade to her throat. He kept his back to the crowd of site seers and spoke softly, "I want this quiet and I want this quick. Hand over all your money, credit cards, and jewelry."

Hikaru reacted immediately by advancing on the man, but Kakeru pulled her back and kept a firm hand on her shoulder so that the thief wouldn't dig his knife deeper into Fuu's neck. Yasuo swiftly put himself in front of Umi and had his hand on her wrist, keeping her behind him.

Kakeru reached for his wallet. "Kakeru!" Hikaru protested, "We can't just. . ." She stopped in the middle of her sentence because as she spoke Fuu savagely bit the man's wrist, actually drawing blood. He cried out and dropped the knife. Yasuo ran forward to intercept Fuu as she fell out of the man's hold. And Umi dashed to catch the blade as it fell, throw herself on the thief, and put the point of his own blade to his throat.

As everyone but Umi let out a big sigh of relief and all attention fell on the group of six people, barely adults, a bright light flashed from a distance and enveloped the entire observation deck of Tokyo Tower. There was no disembodied voice pleading for them to save its world. But each girl knew exactly what was happening. And their emotions were surprisingly similar. Each had feelings of dread, joy, and confusion. Why now? What would their beloved land of Cephiro call them to do this time? The pillar system had been abolished. The incessant crumbling had been stopped. What would the people of Cephiro need them for?

And a split second later all six of them were in the blue sky of Cephiro, plummeting toward the blue ocean below.


	3. Questions

Ren Sato immediately let go of the blue haired beauty that had tackled him. He didn't know what was happening, but he did know that he wasn't in Tokyo Tower, getting the extra cash he needed. He also knew that he was in the company of people he had just threatened and had no idea what their reaction would be. They were all screaming, even he was. One doesn't just pop into a totally different place than one was before and start plunging toward an ocean or a body of water one has never seen before without screaming. Ren screamed until all of a sudden they stopped falling. Whatever they had landed on was soft, warm, and _alive_!

* * *

Umi knew exactly what was happening. She remembered this over-grown eagle distinctly. She knew it for one of Ascot's beasts. And she knew that she would have to speak with him sooner than she thought. What she wasn't prepared for was the tall dark man standing next to the one in green she had just been able to spot. Lantis. He and Ascot were standing on the small overhang where they had first met Clef.

Umi observed that because the three girls had noticed the two men of Cephiro, the three men on the bird with them had diverted their attention to them as well. This was the first time she had realized that Yasuo and Kakeru were there, and the man that had held them up was there too. Now she was really confused. But there was no time to think about it because Hikaru had over come her speechlessness and dismounted from the bird before it had even landed, screaming, "Lantis!" She landed neatly and rushed toward him. He swept her into his arms with a look of amazement on his face. They held each other for what must have seemed like years to them. Then, they very tenderly shared their first kiss.

Umi and Fuu looked at each other with tears in their eyes. They knew how much this moment meant to Hikaru, she had waited seven years to see him again. And then Umi saw Ascot.

"Umi?" he asked softly. The tears that were welling in her eyes overflowed. She had hurt him so badly without even realizing it. She looked away as they fell. He was right in front of her now. He looked down at her and laughed. "Umi!" he cried as he hoisted her up in the air, grinning and laughing.

"Ascot," she smiled in spite of herself. It surprised Umi that he was so happy to see her. He set her down lightly and Kakeru was there in seconds, right beside her. Ascot looked startled then narrowed his eyes. He didn't know who any of the others were and she could see that she was on the defensive. Now was the time for introductions. "Ascot, Lantis," she started. Lantis and Hikaru had unlocked their embrace but were still staring at each other in disbelief. They looked up at the sound of his name. Hikaru understood what Umi was trying to do and she said, "I guess we had a few, um, stowaways."

Umi continued, "This is Kakeru Shidou, Hikaru's brother, Yasuo Watanabe, his friend, and. . . ," she had no idea who the thief was.

* * *

"Ren Sato," he supplied, seeing no other way out.

"He's an acquaintance," the woman with blue hair explained, obviously not wanting to tell the two men the entire truth.

The man in the green coat asked jokingly (Ren hoped), "Should we take flight?" The three women nodded assent, and they didn't seem inclined to leave him behind, so he climbed back onto the disturbingly large brown bird and noticed a black, horse-like steed that seemed to have come out of nowhere that the girl with red hair, Hikaru apparently, and the dark man, referred to as Lantis (?), were mounting. He really didn't like this place and he certainly hoped the place and the people in it would not feel mutual. As the bird glided through the air that somehow seemed fresher, sweeter than the air in Tokyo, he looked around at the scenery of this world and felt a yearning to become a part of it. Ren did not like or trust this new feeling about a place he had only been in for five minutes. He decided to be very cautious. _One could lose themselves in a world that brings out such raw emotion_, he thought as he gazed down at the blue ocean that they very nearly drowned in.

* * *

There was a floating mountain in the sky! Amazing! Yasuo looked around him, just in awe of this beautiful world that the girls had apparently been to before. Hikaru certainly seemed to know this Lantis person. And the other two were almost completely at ease. Well, almost completely, "Ummm, where's Clef? I mean he usually meets us," Umi asked, cautiously for some reason.

"Yes," Fuu added, "We usually end up on his great big fish."

The eagle flew higher above the clouds as the man in green, who seemed to be controlling the bird said, "Perhaps we can discuss that when we . . . ," Umi let out a cry and would have fallen off of the bird if Kakeru hadn't caught her.

"Ascot! What's happened to the. . . Oh no. . . ." and at the end of her speechlessness he thought he heard, "It's all my fault."

"Sir Ascot, what has happened to it?" Fuu asked when Umi was firmly seated next to Kakeru again. Yasuo could only assume that they referred to the tall black mass that had three towers, two of which were falling down and all of which were very ominous.

"Maybe we should wait," the green man said.

"Lantis!" Hikaru tugged on his shirt and the dark man smiled in spite of himself. "You can't not tell us!" He sighed with a weak grin and started telling them.

"Clef has . . . well there's no other way to say this. Clef has betrayed us and Cephiro." Fuu hissed in surprise and Hikaru gasped outright. Only Umi did not react to his statement. Kakeru wondered why. Lantis continued, "He is residing in the palace with four of the students of the magic school we founded five years ago, the ambassador from Chizeta, Princess Tatra, and the ambassador from Fahren, Sang Yung as prisoners." Hikaru was shaking her head and mumbling to herself as Fuu asked, "How . . . how could he do something like that. I mean. . . _Clef_?"

* * *

"Clef." The one called Ascot confirmed. Kakeru had no idea what was going on, but as he studied the dilapidated palace he felt as if someone or something was watching them. Kakeru was not a paranoid person, even when someone was actually watching him he rarely detected them. He didn't like this new perception and turned his attention back to what was just about the strangest conversation he had ever heard.

"Clef has always defended Cephiro, trained its mages and protectors, he, well he lives for Cephiro. I just don't understand what could have happened," Hikaru admitted.

"We don't understand either, Hikaru. Either he has joined forces with or is being controlled by some sort of enemy being. One with a power we have never come across before." Lantis said gently. There was a long silence. Every one seemed to be at a loss for words. Kakeru knew he was. He had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Fuu spoke up again, "Umm, if the palace is . . . no longer in use, where are we going?"

"To the Forest of Silence. We use Sierra's fortress now," Ascot replied.

"Who's Sierra?" Hikaru asked. Kakeru wondered why she didn't know. They seemed to know every one else here.

Lantis looked sharply at Ascot and the younger, shorter man seemed to realize he had made a mistake. But before either of them could reply Umi said the first thing she had since they had spotted the palace. "Why are we here? Who summoned us? First, Princess Emeraude, then Hikaru, both of them pillars. If there are no longer any pillars, there should be no more need for Magic Knights!" Her voice had become louder, more intense than the practical whisper she had used in the beginning, but Magic Knights?

There was another long silence which was surprisingly broken by the stranger among them. He gave a short laugh then snorted, "Magic Knights?" Kakeru hid a smile as Hikaru glared at Ren and the men of Cephiro studied him cautiously. Ascot turned his attention back to navigating the bird, but Lantis' gaze scrutinized Ren then turned to Yasuo and finally Kakeru. Kakeru didn't like the way Lantis looked at him but could understand his caution. Kakeru stared right back at him; he could not afford to show weakness to this armor wearing, ridiculously tall warrior. Hikaru obviously loved him, but if he took advantage of her Kakeru would have to challenge him. He needed to assert his equality if not his superiority.

"There it is," Ascot declared. They had been flying above trees for quite sometime and Kakeru could only assume they were part of the 'Forest of Silence'. His logic was confirmed when he spotted the large, brown, stone fortress.

* * *

The great bird landed as Hikaru and Lantis dismounted from his steed. Hikaru couldn't contain her excitement. She was going to see all her old friends again. Suddenly at least three small children burst out of the tunnel that led into the fortress from the courtyard. They were screaming something about an Uncle Ascot. Wait a minute, _Uncle Ascot!_ Caldina came waddling out after them and Hikaru exclaimed, "Caldina are these yours!"

Caldina chuckled and drawled, "Why, no Hikaru, these are Mokona's young 'uns."

"I can see you have another one on the way, Miss Caldina," Fuu observed.

"Yessir," she patted her bulging stomach, "me and Lafarga have really been going at it lately."

Every one looked a bit shocked at that declaration but Umi of all people at that moment gave a quick laugh.

"C'mere, c'mere, little missies, how long has it been?" This last statement made Umi shudder a bit, but no one seemed to notice as Caldina crowded the three girls in for a group hug. She broke it off quickly though as she noticed one of the little girls on top of the bird thrusting a rag doll in Kakeru's face as he was trying to get off of it. He was being a sport but she cried, "Impala! Imp! Imp, stop it. Get off that bird." She grabbed hold of the toddler, apologized to Kakeru then said, "All these new faces! How did this happen? No wait introductions first."

Hikaru made them this time, knowing all the names, but still struggling to explain their relationship with Ren. "He, uhh, is a . . . acquaintance of ours, yes. We really don't know why he's here," Hikaru shrugged.

"Or why any of us are here," Fuu added quickly.

"Well, why doesn't every one come into the fortress and we'll discuss it all." As they walked along a dimly lit hallway, Caldina was explaining their circumstances. Umi only caught the last bit, "…and so we were forced from the castle and Sierra opened up this place to us. Of course it's not nearly as dangerous as it used to be thanks to you three. Oh yes, Lafarga and Sierra and Ferio are out scouting for any of Clef's creatures we always catch a few lurking around, they'll take care of 'em. Ah, here we are, Liesse . . . "

"They have come," a girl of about sixteen sat in the middle of a room filled with children. "All of them are here." She was slim and had long, straight black hair and deep green eyes. She wore a simple pale green dress and held a tattered book in her hands as if she had been reading to the children.

Hikaru came forward, "Do you know why we're here?"

"No," she said simply while her eyes glazed as if she was seeing something far away.

Hikaru jumped back, surprised, "You don't?"

"No," the girl said quite calmly in spite of Hikaru's explosion, "I know why they are here." She gestured toward the men.

They all looked about as surprised as Hikaru as she said, "Really?"

The girl, Liesse, appeared baffled as she stated as if it was quite obvious, "Why, they are the Magic Knights."

At this everyone exclaimed, "What?" And Caldina said, "Liesse, hun, you got it all wrong. Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are the Magic Knights. Everyone knows that story 'round here."

All the children spoke words or made noises of agreement. Liesse broke her aura of mystery by saying defensively (like a normal teenager), "Yes, I _know_ Caldina," then returned to her mystique, "They _were_ the Magic Knights, now…now they are. . . they. . . are," she broke it again and her eyes returned to normal, "I can't see any more. I'm sorry." Liesse shed a few tears of guilt as Caldina rushed over.

"It's alright dear, no one expects you to see everything. What you have seen is amazing, especially having never been taught."

Umi and all of those from Tokyo were more than a little confused until a girl who seemed to be a little younger than Liesse explained, "Liesse is a Seer, the last of the very few that had lived before the Destruction and Rebirth. She's never been taught how her gifts work but we're very lucky to have her. She foresaw your arrival so that Ascot and Lantis could intercept you before Clef learned that you were here," she stopped for a moment and smiled, "I'm very glad that you came back." It wasn't until after that statement that Umi realized who the girl was.

"Mira?" Hikaru asked happily. The girl nodded and waded through the sea of children to give Hikaru a fierce hug.


	4. Answers

Ren had had enough, enough of the weird animals and architecture, enough of all the mystery, and enough of all the hugging. "Umm, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything but it seems that in order to get any kind of explanation I have to interrupt _something_. You see, the thing is, I don't know where I am, who all of you are, or what's going on here and it's really starting to bother me. Is anyone going to help me out here?"

"I guess we need to tell all three of you our story," Fuu supplied turning to the men.

"You mean they don't know?" Mira asked, astonished as if every one in the world should know about their adventures here. Well, Umi thought, every one in this world does.

Fuu looked at the girl and smiled patiently, "Mira, if we had told anyone on our world what happened to us here we would have been locked away for a long time."

"Oh." They all departed from the cramped nursery, led by Caldina. When they entered a much larger room that seemed to be designed as a gathering place, with plenty of seating and tables, Umi said, "Before we start with the long narratives I have a question for you, Caldina."

Caldina settled down on a soft and comfortable looking couch and replied, "Shoot!"

"You keep referring to some one named Sierra. Who is that, and where's Presea?"

Caldina looked away for a moment, obviously thinking of what to say or how to say it. "Missies, Presea was never resurrected. When you came back, that was Sierra playing the part of her twin sister, trying to save you girls and especially Ascot a little heartache. Ascot has since found out the truth and he's accepted that not even Princess Emeraude could have saved Presea from her fate. And though Sierra can never take her sister's place as she once tried to, she has found her own place here and in all of our hearts."

"And I hope to find a place in your hearts, Magic Knights." Presea, no, Sierra appeared at the doorway where the rest of them had entered. Lafarga materialized next to her, gave her shoulder a squeeze, and then moved farther into the room to greet Caldina.

Hikaru was the first to move toward the doorway then all three girls converged on Presea's twin and gave her the same greeting they would have given Presea. As the four women moved into the room another woman came running into the room through another doorway, "Caldina! Sierra! I felt it kick, it kicked!" She was yelling with joy, then, "Oh!" as she entered the room and saw all of the unexpected visitors.

"Corsica, that's marvelous," Caldina struggled to get up in order make introductions but Sierra intercepted. She started, "Corsica, this is . . . ," but she was cut off when Ferio came in.

"Corsica!" he was startled to see all the people but looked away when he met Fuu's gaze.

Fuu met his gaze and understood what she saw there. It only drove the stake in deeper when Sierra continued, "This is Hikaru, Umi, Fuu and. . . company. All of you this is Corsica, my new partner in smithing and Ferio's new . . . partner in . . . life." She said the last part a bit hesitantly and then there was an uncomfortable silence. Fuu knew what she had to do but it didn't hurt any less. She started over to where the two women were standing with Ferio behind them.

"Fuu," he started. But she silenced him with a quick look.

"Hello, Corsica. In case you didn't get that too well, I'm Fuu, that's Hikaru and Umi. That's Hikaru's brother Kakeru, his friend Yasuo, and that's Ren. Ren's requested an explanation for being here and we were just about to give it to him when everyone else arrived. So why don't we get started, unless there's any one else we haven't met yet?" She smiled and directed the question toward Sierra who, like every one else, except the Tokyo men, looked a little shocked and a tad perplexed, Ferio most of all.

Sierra shrugged and looked to Caldina who also shrugged and said, "Well there's just the kids, but there's so many of them and they're always runnin' around you probably couldn't get them straight any way. Hell, Lafarga doesn't get their names right half the time and he's their father." Everyone, except Ren who hadn't chuckled at anything yet, chuckled at that as Larfaga lightly blushed. When every one was settled Hikaru began the tale with her school trip to Tokyo Tower.

* * *

Hours had passed and when Hikaru finished Ren looked bored, Kakeru looked worried and Yasuo was trying to hide his tears. "I guess that's it." Fuu said.

"No, wait, now what was the thing about them boys bein' the magic knights, Liesse?" Caldina asked.

"All I know is that, Kakeru, Yasuo, and Ren must now undergo what the girls did more than seven years ago and the previous magic knights must go with them," Liesse replied then added, "I really am as confused as the rest of you."

"Is there any way that you could be wrong?" Hikaru said.

"No, no seer in the history of Cephiro has ever been wrong. I know that."

"Why is it that we never came across any seers before this?" Fuu questioned.

Lafarga answered that one, "During Princess Emeraude's reign only two seers existed and they both were at the palace when Zagato took control. They were both killed during the chaos that day."

There was a moment of silence after that. Hikaru couldn't contain her question any longer though, "Have we somehow ceased to be the Magic Knights, then?"

"Yes," Liesse answered. At seeing the distress that her answer caused she continued, "You do have the chance to become something else. I don't know what and I don't know how, but I do know that you must go to find the shrines of the rune gods along with the magic knights, there you will find the answers that I can't give you.

But that also means that you, Magic Knights, must depart for the Spring of Enterna to find the ore escudo, so that Corsica may make you the weapons you will need."

"Corsica?" Fuu asked curiously, "Not meaning any disrespect, but aren't you able to create weapons, Sierra?"

"No, that was Presea's specialty. I can repair weapons only. Corsica is now the Master Smith of Cephiro, only she knows how to create them," Sierra answered with no trace of shame or jealousy.

"And what about Mokona, where is the little marshmallow?" Umi asked.

Sierra said rather sadly, "After you girls left, and after the rebirth of Cephiro, Mokona just . . . just left." She shrugged, "Clef and I just watched him disappear into this forest. No one has seen him since."

"He just disappeared?" Hikaru said in amazement.

"We had gone to that little cliff where you girls first met Clef. We talked for a while about you and about Presea, and about Alcione too, she was also a student of his you know. He spoke about all of them with such great sadness, I suppose that was why he started the school to find new pupils to teach and love. Oh, anyway Mokona had followed us there and was surprisingly quiet throughout our entire conversation. He gave us one last 'puh!' really in goodbye I suppose, and just hopped into the forest. We tried to look for him, but he was gone."

Hikaru looked extremely saddened by this news. So Fuu said encouragingly, "Don't worry Hikaru I'm sure he'll turn up right when we need him most." There was another pause, then Fuu sighed, "I guess _that's_ it then."

"But it's not," Hikaru protested, "Umi tell them."

Umi looked startled, she had been watching Kakeru the whole time, studying his reactions. "What? Tell them what, Hikaru?"

"About your dreams."

Umi was alarmed. She couldn't tell them! "I. . . I think I'm hungry. How long have we been sitting here?"

Caldina shot up, "Oh my goodness! It's been decades! Every one must be starvin'. Come on Sierra, Corsica, Mira let's see what we can fix up."

"I think I'll come with you," Umi volunteered, "I'm not a horrible cook."

"I'll vouch for her!" Kakeru declared and they shared a quick smile.

Kakeru settled back down. That story was amazing but also unsettling. He wasn't sure what it meant for his and Umi's relationship.

"That was a good bit of fancy footwork on her part," the guy named Ferio chuckled.

"What?" poor Hikaru was confused again.

"That whole 'I think I'm hungry thing.' She knew Caldina would make a big deal and she wouldn't have to answer your question," Ferio explained.

"Now the question is, why?" Kakeru spoke up.

"I don't think she's ready. Like Hikaru wasn't ready to talk about your wedding until, well, today," Fuu suggested.

She was about to continue when Ascot asked rather quickly as if he wasn't sure he could get it out, as if he already knew the answer, "Who's wedding?"

Yet again everyone looked a little uncomfortable and Kakeru felt that it wasn't a good time for him to speak. Even though it hadn't been mentioned in Ren's explanation there was obviously something up with Ascot and Umi also.

Hikaru tried not to look down as she said, "Umi and Kakeru are engaged. They've promised to spend their life together." She must have added the last bit in case the people of Cephiro didn't use the same terms they did.

"Oh," Ascot looked away, "Excuse me for a moment," he said as he rushed from the room.

There was another silence. Surprisingly, Fuu got up and followed him.


	5. A Nightmare

She found him in the little open walkway where, unknown to either of them, Presea had sat when the magic ball Ascot had thrown for his pet monster, Pagero had entered her body, causing her death later that night.

"Ascot!" she called to get his attention. He was supporting himself on the stone column, holding back tears. "Ascot," she put a hand on his shoulder, then held him, comforting him. She knew how he felt, exactly, and she needed the comfort too. After a few moments he freed himself.

"I had no reason to expect. . ." he started

"Neither did I. But we did, didn't we?"

"She never even understood."

"Yes she did, years later, but she was heart broken. She felt, she still feels so guilty. She never wanted to hurt you."

"But she never loved me either. At least Ferio loved you. But I suppose that would hurt more though, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know. I know what I feel, but I can only imagine what you do. Ascot, we had no reason to expect anything, but we did. We hoped that seven years later they would be waiting for us, and they weren't. They've found happiness, hopefully, and we should be happy for them. I'm trying not to dislike Corsica, and I hope you don't make any assumptions about Kakeru. He's a great guy and. . . . "

"I'm sure he's a good man," he cut her off, "hey, she picked him over me _and_ Clef!"

"Ascot," she said quietly, "Try not to look at it that way."

He turned and gave her a weak smile, "You're right Fuu. I'll try to give him a chance, and I'll try not to think of it that way. But I think it's going to be hard."

"Alright, let's go back. I can smell the food from here." This time he really smiled.

* * *

Clef sat on his now black throne and brooded. His latest creatures had yet again been defeated. Not that he had expected them to be victorious, but he had thought his former allies would have suffered at least one or two casualties by now. Caldina, yes she had always been annoying with that stupid Chizetan accent and being entirely too fertile. Why wasn't she dead yet? Why weren't any of them dead yet? As he sat lost in his bitter thoughts his master contacted him, as he usually did through his mind, _I have something to show you, Clef. You may be pleased or you may be upset, you may even be both. We shall see though, won't we? _

"Yes, Master." And a black sphere appeared before him. It engulfed itself in a surface fog and when the fog disappeared he saw Umi there and she was speaking to a man dressed in clothing of her own world. Clef could tell that they were in Cephiro though. He recognized the room in the fortress as Presea's former study. Umi was there, Umi was in Cephiro! Clef was elated until he heard what they were saying.

"Umi, about Clef, or Ascot even, I don't know, if you love either of them I'm not going to stand in your way," he breathed out heavily and waited for her reply.

She gaped at him, eyes wide with shock, "Kakeru!" she exclaimed, "What is on my finger?" She held up her left hand and the diamond on the simple golden band sparkled in the dim candlelight. "What does this mean?" He looked away. "It means that I love you, that I want to be with you. Yes, Ascot loved me. Yes, I loved Clef before I loved you. Yes, I still love him, but not in the way you seem to think I do. I love him like Hikaru and Fuu and all his other students do. Of course I still have loyalty to him, and of course I feel guilty about what I did to him and what I did to Ascot."

"You didn't do any. . . "

She cut him off, "I love you, and that's all that matters at this moment," she hesitated here, "As long as you love me."

He laughed! "Are you kidding? Of course I love you! If I didn't love you I wouldn't have risked our life together by asking you such a stupid question." He swept her into his arms, lifted her off her feet for a moment, and set her down. She was laughing the whole time. They shared a long and tender kiss, after which she whispered, just loud enough for Clef to hear her. "I love you more than anything, Kakeru. Never leave me."

Clef was furious. He grabbed hold of the black sphere and threw it down hard and fast. It shattered with a great crash as it came in contact with the floor that was now dark marble, stripped of its once regal crimson carpet. She had chosen and promised herself to another man! She had stopped loving him. No, she had never loved him! No, it was this Kakeru. He was some how influencing her, controlling her. Clef decided then and there that he would free his beloved from this interloper's sway if it was the last thing he did.

And Clef's master decided then and there that things couldn't be going any better. Everything was happening according to plan.

* * *

Of course Hikaru burst into the study while they were in the middle of their second, and really much more exciting kiss. "There you guys are!" she cried as if she hadn't noticed that they were having a private moment. "I was just going to head down to the armory with Lantis and Sierra. Either of you care to join us?"

Kakeru shrugged, it sounded interesting. But Umi shook her head. When she noticed that Kakeru was about to accept she said, "You go ahead. I just want to get some fresh air. I'll meet you down there a little later. Don't worry, I remember where it is." So Kakeru chuckled appropriately and followed Hikaru and the other two down to the surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly extensive armory, complete with a cannon that probably couldn't be moved up the stairs that brought them there.

Umi sat down at the edge of the pond and gazed at her reflection in the water, darker than usual because of the night. There were no stars, and no moon. She saw her own placid blue eyes, not as wide as they had been when she was fourteen, and she saw her lighter blue hair that framed her face with bangs that were longer and more curled than they had been seven years before. But what she heard she did not want to believe.

"I know what he's done to you, and I want you to know that I am going to find a way to reverse it," she heard him say.

Umi clasped her hands to her ears and whispered, "No! I don't want to dream about you anymore!"

He took hold of her hands gently. She looked up into his eyes. He said, "But we aren't dreaming, Umi. I'm here, you're here. See, I can touch you. I couldn't do that in your dreams." Umi hesitated but quickly came to herself and scrambled away from him. Clef had betrayed Cephiro and she could not trust him as she seemed to so desperately to want to.

"Umi, I know why you're backing away from me, but you have to trust me. I want to help you." As he said these words he seemed to grow, he changed from his child-like form into a much taller grown man. He became more menacing. Even as he said the words "trust me" her eyes widened with fear. All she could do was stand there, as if petrified.

He caught hold of her left hand and exclaimed, "This!" He wrenched the diamond engagement ring off her finger and threw it into the pond as she cried, "Nooooooo!"

* * *

Kakeru hefted an extremely well built, well balanced sword. "That's a nice one. Odd that I haven't seen it before." Lantis commented.

Sierra walked over, "Oh, yes. Corsica made that one just a few days ago. Very nice."

"She's still creating weapons in her. . . condition?" Hikaru asked curiously.

"Of course. If you remember, Hikaru, creating puts no strain on the body, just on the will."

Lantis looked up sharply, "Clef is here, I can feel him."

"What?" Sierra breathed.

"By the pond. Kakeru, Umi could be in danger," Lantis warned quickly.

"Wha. . . ," but he trailed off as he realized what Lantis meant. "Then what are we waiting for? Where is it?"

"This way!" Lantis called as he ran to lead the way.

* * *

They found her at the pond just like Lantis had said. A tall gray haired, _young _looking man had a hold of her hand and was flinging something into the pond. She screamed. This caused Kakeru to run even faster. He pulled ahead of Lantis and reached them first. He grabbed her shoulder and cut a gash into the man's arm causing him to release her. He pulled her away from the black robed figure and took a few steps back. He encircled Umi in his other arm protectively as he leveled the sword at Clef.

"You," Clef hissed. "I know what you're doing and you had better understand that I'm going to put a stop to it." By that time Lantis, Sierra, Hikaru, and Lafarga had arrived and formed a semi circle around him with the pond to his back. Clef had nowhere to go.

"Even, if I knew remotely what you were talking about, I wouldn't stoop so low as to make idle threats," Kakeru replied.

"We shall see how idle they are, young boy from another world," he taunted then smiled cruelly and vanished.

"That was not the Clef I remember. One of his minions maybe?" Hikaru suggested.

Lantis narrowed his eyes in thought, "No, I'm sure that was Clef. His aura was darker, but still Clef."

"It was Clef," Umi said detachedly, "He appeared at first in his normal form but he changed before my eyes." She shuddered.

Kakeru turned to her, "Umi, are you okay?"

A single tear escaped from her eyes as she sighed and said, "No, Kakeru, I'm not okay. I'm sorry, but a man that I loved for five years of my life has betrayed everything he stood for and believed in for the seven hundred years of his, has . . . has become _that_ because of me."

"I don't think that's what . . . ," he started.

"It is what happened!"

"How do you know?" He demanded, "What? Is it in those dreams you've been having? Dreams that he's probably been sending you? Don't believe a word he says, it's all lies!"

"He doesn't say anything," she defended. "He just asks questions. And it's there; the truth is all there in my answers." She turned away from him then.

"Umi. . ."

She was crying, "I knew. . . I knew this would be a nightmare! I knew that coming here would be a death sentence on a life we haven't even started yet!" And she turned and ran back to the fortress. Kakeru started after her but Lantis put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head as Hikaru and Fuu chased after her.


	6. Raise the Dead

"It's not all your fault, Miss Umi," Fuu encouraged.

"Yes it is and now I've ruined things with Kakeru too." She put her head in her hands and wept, shoulders heaving.

"You haven't ruined anything with Kakeru." Hikaru said as she sat down next to her, leaning against the wall in the deserted study.

"And how do you know it's all your fault?" Fuu queried. "Did he tell you in a dream?"

"Not in any words but, the questions he asked were all about how much I loved him, why I had stopped loving him. It had to be that that pushed him over the edge, what else could it have been?"

"There are many reasons for someone to revert to evil, not just a seemingly spurned love," Fuu explained.

"And even if it was for that reason it's not in any way your fault!" Hikaru declared.

"That's an odd statement coming from you," Umi snorted.

"Look," Hikaru said defensively, "I know I didn't understand before, but now I do. And for the exact reasons that you told me back in Tokyo, it is _not_ your fault!"

Umi considered this, "Maybe you're right. I'll think about it. But now, I think I want to go to sleep."

Fuu smiled, "Do that, I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

"Good night," Umi said as she exited the room.

"Good night," they both replied.

* * *

Umi woke up with Kakeru's arms around her. She was startled. She didn't know where she had expected him to sleep, but she hadn't thought she'd wake up next to him. And she hadn't thought he would still want to have his arms around her. She tried to ease out of the bed but he woke up anyway. "Morning, love," he greeted her with a smile.

She turned to look at him from where she sat on the edge of the bed, "You sure you still want to call me that?"

He snorted, "Why?"

"You aren't mad at me? For what I said last night?"

"What did you say that was so horrible?" She reviewed the conversation they had had the night before, mortified when she realized that they had argued in front of everyone, but she couldn't remember saying any thing detrimental to their relationship. She thought for sure that she had. "Umi," he continued, "You were upset last night, and understandably so. If I blame any one for our argument, I blame Clef." He moved over to her and took her face in his hands, "Not you, understand?"

She nodded, "I don't know how I deserve to have anyone like you." Yet again she was crying.

He laughed and wiped away her tears with his thumb. They settled back down into the bed to do some very satisfying making up.

* * *

Fuu sat in the large kitchen sipping the tea she had tried, and practically failed, to prepare for herself. No one was up yet, it had been a hard day yesterday. She had always been an early riser though, and she enjoyed the solitude and time to think that her biological clock often gave her. She had been there quietly thinking for about five minutes when Ren peaked around the corner, then strolled in through the doorway, "Thank God I found it. This place is huge," he drawled as he got himself a cup of Fuu's tea. He sat down across from her, took a bid gulp of the tea (before she could warn him) and made a face. "Do you usually make tea from scratch?"

"Not with herbs from Cephiro," Fuu smiled.

He gave her a faint grin. As she once had, Ren never seemed to smile. Fuu wanted to know why that was so she decided now was as good as any other time to start probing for answers. She had a feeling that they weren't going to be that easy to get. "So, where are you from?"

"Tokyo," he answered curtly.

"Any family there?" she continued, searching.

"Some."

"What. . ."

He cut her off abruptly, "Look, Fuu, I really don't need the question and answer session. So if you. . ."

It was her turn, "Look, Ren, you asked for an explanation and we gave you one. So maybe you should oblige me."

"That sounds like a threat," he stated, almost sounding amused.

"It's not, but if you think about it you're the outsider here. Hikaru, Umi, and I have all been here before, and both of the other guys have ties to us. If you choose to not cooperate, Ren, you _are_ alone." She felt like she had to say that; that somehow he didn't understand.

Ren had the most emotion she had ever seen on his face just then. It was shock. "Now that _really_ sounds like a threat!" he exclaimed.

"It's not, its facts, Ren. I don't know why you're here, but I have a feeling that it had to do with you holding a knife to my throat."

His eyes narrowed at that, "I. . . I'm sor. . . "

"Aaaaaaaoooooooohhhn!" Caldina appeared in the doorway, yawning loudly, "Oh! Am I interruptin' something?" she said when they both looked up, startled.

Fuu was sure that Ren had been about to say 'sorry' which was certainly interesting, but she said that Caldina wasn't, anyway. "Umm, I made some tea, but I'm afraid it's not very good," she continued with a laugh. Ren did his little half grin and nodded.

"Well, I'll just have to make some more then. Oop!" she stopped as she felt a kick then continued to do whatever she was doing, so Fuu was distracted as Ren abruptly stood up and left. He was trying to hide his good will; she knew it. He wasn't a common thug or drug addict. There was something different about him and she was determined to find out what.

He seemed to be exploring and she followed him into a small outdoor alcove which looked to be being used as an herb garden. There was a bench and a small fountain in the center. "Sit down, Ren."

"Fuu, I don't want to answer any questions," he protested.

"You don't have to, just listen." She sat down stiffly on the bench as he lounged with his head tilted back, his dark hair almost touching the still water of the fountain. "Comfortable?" she asked, sort of annoyed.

"Very," he answered, "I have a feeling this is going to take a while."

"Maybe, maybe not," she replied, and then she steeled herself for she had spoken of this to no one besides Hikaru and Umi. "My father died four years ago, of Corollary vernisans."

* * *

Ren started at that. No, it couldn't be. But she had said. It's a strange coincidence surely. But he felt his eyes growing wider and wider, his astonishment greater and greater as she went on. "My mother was heart broken, we all were of course, but she didn't know what to do with herself afterward. She fell into depression about a month later. She attempted suicide right after my sister's wedding about a year ago. It's hard; Kuu moved to Kyoto, Subaru got a job there. So, it's only me looking after Mother. I go to school in the mornings and help out at a medical research lab during the afternoons. My aunt takes care of her when I can't. But really the only time I'm free of that burden, when I'm not constantly thinking of her is when I'm at the lab. I think of Dad a lot when I'm there, because we're working, no we were working on medicine for people with CV. We've actually put out a new drug that can stop the symptoms even the disease in its tracks! " she laughed here, "You know before he died my main ambition in life was to be a computer engineer, it was only because of him that I got into medicine." But he noticed that she stopped smiling when he stood up abruptly and left the little herbal nook. He couldn't deal. Their lives were so similar, no; her life is what his could have been like if it weren't for Her.

"Ren!" Fuu called after him but she knew he wasn't coming back. "I don't understand." She said to herself. Someone appeared in the doorway. She looked up, and was surprised to see that it was Lafarga.

"Ferio?" he asked sympathetically.

She sighed, wishing it was so simple. "No, Ren." When he looked surprised she felt that the truth had to be told in order for every one to understand what was happening between the six of them, "Ren's not friends with the rest of us, we aren't even acquaintances. We met him yesterday, right before we came here, when he . . . when he tried to rob us. He held a knife to my throat." She sighed.

"What don't you understand then? Why did you look so disappointed when he left?"

"Lafarga, for this to work, we all have to ban together, we have to be a team, there can be no distrust if we are going to save Clef, get rid of this evil, and go home. I tried to open up to him. I practically told him my life story," she exclaimed disbelieving, "but he just got up and left without a word."

Lafarga looked troubled as he sat down next to her, "I wish I could say something to help you, but I've never been good at reading people or understanding them. I'm sorry."

Fuu grinned, "Don't worry, Lafarga. I'm glad you came along anyway, I've been alone a lot lately." She leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes. "I have missed being here, missed seeing you all so much."

"We're all glad you're back," he chuckled then, "and that you brought help, however unwilling it may be."

* * *

"Cephiro seems so strange to me now," Hiakaru mused as she and Lantis strolled through the forest of silence, supposedly on patrol, watching for more of Clef's creatures.

"How so?" he asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"It's the same but it's different. It has the same feel, but I don't remember this path being here, or that stream."

"Well, that's easily explained. You see, Hikaru, after the defeat of Debonair, Cephiro was recreated from the memories in the hearts of all of its people. But memory is a strange thing, rarely is it that any two people remember places or events in the same exact way. And so there was no possible way for Cephiro to be reborn as a precise copy. Everything's here, Hikaru, it's just shifted. Everyone remembered Cephiro in there own way so what we have is a compromise, a meshing of all the memories of all of our people."

Hikaru laughed, "Maybe not so easily explained. But I think it's beautiful, more so even than what I remember."

They walked on in silence, tenderly clasping each other's hand, simply for the warm contact it provided, that which they had craved for so long.

Suddenly, Lantis stopped, mid-stride. Hikaru saw a figure crouched in the distance. He seemed to be leaning over the earth, mumbling something. She looked over at Lantis and his expression changed from surprise and hope to a grim anger when the figure looked up. Hikaru now saw that he was a boy, no older than fourteen, crouching over some scattered stones with runes on them. "Lantis!" the boy exclaimed with shock, his pale blue eyes filled with fear.

Lantis looked hard and spoke hard, "This is a disgrace Delorian, and I have a feeling Clef didn't make you do this."

Hikaru noticed that the boy looked pained for a moment before he grinned menacingly and replied, "Do what, raise the dead?" And with that he scooped the stones into his hand and heaved them back into the same place they were. There was a great rumble beneath them and where the stones fell a mound of earth rose up. From the mound there came a large insect type monster. It hovered in the air to the right of the boy, awaiting his command. Hikaru cried out as she recognized the monster. It was the insect that had killed Presea!

The boy gestured fiercely toward them and the insect advanced. Hikaru was still registering the monster's identity when Lantis grabbed her by the arm and started running. That shook her, "Lantis, why are we running?"

"Talon's monsters are abnormally strong after they've been raised. We can't do this alone."

"I thought you called him Delorian."

"I did. And I'll explain to all of you later." She let it rest at that and concentrated on keeping up with him. His legs were entirely too long.


	7. A Scare

Umi slowly rolled out of the bed that she and Kakeru shared. She put on her dress from the day before, having nothing else to wear. Their room was small but comfortable with a large bed, a small bureau and a small, empty closet. It actually had a window, most rooms in the fortress didn't and as she gazed out onto the grounds she saw Lantis burst out of the forest, sword in hand with Hikaru right behind him. She looked back into the room and called, "Kakeru! I think something's . . ." As she went back to the window she saw that something really was wrong. A giant insect had hurtled out of the forest canopy and was heading straight for Hikaru and Lantis. Kakeru came to her side and looked out, "Holy. . . We gotta get down there," he started to go when he noticed she wasn't following. "Umi!"

She was staring out the window, head tilted in disbelief, "Kakeru, that's the bug, that's the monster that killed Presea. How could it . . .?" She looked at him.

"It doesn't matter, Umi. It's here and it's attacking."

She gulped and shook her head, "Of course, let's go." Kakeru grabbed the sword he had lent against the wall and headed straight for Hikaru and Lantis. Umi realized that she didn't actually have a weapon and so made her way to the armory.

* * *

Ascot had seen the insect fly up out of the forest. He stood transfixed. "Pagero," he whispered.

As Fuu made her way from Hikaru and Lantis, who she had just been talking to, she spotted Ascot. She knew the monster for who it was and what it was. She knew that Ascot had recognized his one time friend; she knew he needed help. She came up right in front of him, cutting off his view of Pagero. "Ascot, we all know who he is. Lantis said that one of Clef's minions has raised him from the dead. Can you control him?"

"Raised? Of course! But no, if Talon's raised him he's Talon's creature now."

"Alright," Fuu sighed, "We'll need your friends to help us Ascot."

"Right," he nodded and started drawing the star.

* * *

Every one was outside by the time Kakeru got to the yard. Hikaru, Lantis, Ferio, Lafarga, and a number of Ascot's monsters were fending off the beast but obviously not doing much damage. Caldina, Liesse, Corsica, and Fuu were herding the children that had been playing in the courtyard toward the fortress. As Kakeru raced toward the huge insect that Lantis had just fried with a lightning bolt he realized that he had no idea what he was doing. Was it all just slash and stab? Or was there another way of going about fighting with monsters? He really wished he had at least tried to play some of those RPG games his friends always talked about in school, but no, it was kendo all day everyday for the Shidous and now he had no notion of what to do.

* * *

Yasuo looked back as he followed Sierra away from the battle raging in the courtyard. She yelled back at him, "You can't help me carry them but at least you can help get the case open."

"I wouldn't be much help out there anyway," he called forward as they raced through the maze of the stone fortress, "I don't have a sword and I don't know how to use one."

"Don't worry, you'll learn quick enough," she said as he slammed into her back nearly knocking her over. She had stopped. "Here we are." They were in a large banquet hall with a long table in the middle with long benches on either side of it. They were standing about three yards away from the far wall. The wall had a large glass case on it. The case held three swords in it, crossed. "The Magic Knight's swords?" he asked eagerly.

"No," she answered, still short of breath, "Not anymore. Just swords made of escudo, now." She turned to him, "It is not the sword that makes the Magic Knight, Yasuo, it is the rune god. We need to get these to Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu. They're what killed the monster the first time and I'm fairly sure, being evolved now, that they will do it again."

"Right," he said and he stepped forward and smashed the glass with his bare fist.

* * *

Sierra wasn't in the armory. She's _probably up there fighting, which is where I should be_, Umi thought impatiently. She didn't have the time to stand still and "think real hard" so she just grabbed a random rapier and sprinted up the steps.

And of course she got lost. "Don't worry I remember where it is," she had said, _Yeah but not how to get out of it_. She heard a crash in the room down the hallway she was standing in and ran toward it hoping nothing else had decided to stage a surprise attack.

Sierra and Yasuo stood in the middle of what could only be a dinning hall struggling with some swords on the floor. "I don't know how I did this last time," she heard Sierra say.

"Do what?" Umi announced herself.

"Umi!" Yasuo cried, "Come here and get your sword!"

"What?" she said as she walked over. She drew in a breath as she saw what was on the floor. Her eyes widened as she knelt down to pick up her rapier. It fit in her hand perfectly, just how she remembered it.

"What are you waiting for? Go! We'll be right behind you."

Umi grinned recklessly as she dashed out the door, Yasuo, with her discarded sword in hand, shouting directions behind her.

As they reached the sunlight, Yasuo drew back and shaded his eyes with his forearm. Undaunted Umi kept right on toward the insect. The others drew away as she thrust and slashed at the undead creature. It wasn't enough. The creature fought back even harder. One of its back legs shot out toward its attacker. Umi didn't see it coming but someone else did.

"Winds of Protection!" Fuu cried as she ran foreword with her own broad sword.

Sierra dashed out of the fortress with Hikaru's weapon floating before her. "Hikaru!" she called and with a jerk of her hands hurled the sword toward her. Hikaru caught it and tore into the fray.

It was over in a matter of moments. The insect turned back into the earth from whence it came and left the three girls panting and leaning against each other and their swords. "Thanks for that, Fuu," Umi said as she patted her friend on the back.

Fuu smiled back, "I wasn't sure it was going to work!" All three of them laughed and soon they were surrounded by a mass of close companions giving hugs and pats on the back all around. The people of the fortress hadn't had a scare like that in months.

* * *

Delorian ripped the mask off and almost thrust it to the ground before he remembered that he would probably need it again. He didn't want it. He hated his power. It was wrong on so many levels. Clef always used to say, "I will teach you how to do this, Delorian, but you must never use it except in great need." Clef used to say that, but no longer.

Delorian sat, with his head in his hands, on the old fountain in the courtyard of the old residential quarters. He remembered being there, when the grass was green and the water flowed, while outside Cephiro crumbled. It was the reverse now. The palace may be crumbling at a much slower rate than Cephiro was then, but it was going to fall apart sooner or later. He wondered where he would be when it did.

He remembered when the Magic Knights had come there for the first time. Fuu had sung a song for them. Umi had chased Mokona around and made them all laugh. Mira had been there, and Talon. Even Sable had been there, though she was just a baby. They had loved the Magic Knights and now he condemned them all to fighting those girls, women now, because he just couldn't leave. Delorian just couldn't leave him.

Someone walked in. He looked up and then quickly looked back down. It was Talon. Talon would never forgive him for what he had done; he knew it. Delorian had seen the fear in his eyes when he gazed into them, when he held him and put the mask to his own visage. And so Talon's hazel eyes turned ice blue and Delorian was in control. He hated it; he never wanted to do it again. But how could he say no to Clef. To his master's view, so black and white now, it would be a betrayal, and it would never be forgiven.

Talon sat down next to him and said very quietly, "I know why, Delorian. I know why you did it. But I hope . . . I hope he doesn't ask you to do it again." He looked straight at Delorian now, "I don't want to be afraid of you." Delorian bit his lip, trying hard to keep from crying out. Talon was his best friend. With no other boys of their age group around and then being admitted to Clef's school together they had been like brothers. He couldn't do it again. He couldn't!

* * *

"He can what?" Umi exclaimed with disbelief.

"He can take control of a person's mind and body, and therefore their abilities," Lantis replied solemnly. They all were again in the gathering room. Well, not all. Caldina, Sierra, Corsica, and the three men from Tokyo were in the armory acquiring weapons to take on their excursion to the spring. In the gathering room were Lantis, Umi, Hikaru, Fuu, Ferio, Ascot, and Lafarga.

"But how does he do it, Sir Lantis?" Fuu asked.

"I watched him do it once," Ascot volunteered, "He needs a tool, a mask to help him, and it all has to do with the eyes. He looks into their eyes, and puts on the mask. There is a struggle of wills, I'm sure but it's a hard thing to see. When he has control their eye color will switch because he is seeing what they see, with the help of the mask, through their eyes."

"That's how you knew, wasn't it Lantis?" Hikaru said putting it together.

Lantis nodded, "Talon has hazel eyes." They all sat in silence until Liesse came into the room.

"Lantis? I . . . I didn't see him, but is it true? Did Delorian . . .?" She looked on the verge of tears. She could see the truth in all of their faces, "No!" she cried, "How could he? Why? He . . . he loves Talon! I . . . I love . . ." And Lantis strode over to her and she buried her sobs in his hard leather armor.


	8. Shenanigans in the Forest of Silence

Ren stood, leaning against the doorway of the armory. He watched Kakeru study the broadswords on the wall and Yasuo look warily at some rapiers in the corner. Sierra started, "Okay you all heard the story, so . . ." But he cut her off quickly to avoid confusion, "I don't do swords."

Everyone stared at him for a moment then Yasuo said, "Well, I don't either but we have to do this."

Ren continued, "No. Give me a few knives, then I'll do this." Yet again they all stared at him, not believing that he would possibly make such demands of people who had taken him in when they really didn't have to, "Okay, I'm not into all this Dungeons and Dragons shit. You all know I've used knives before and I know that I'm good with them. Let's just leave it at that." Then he looked around, "Don't you have a set of knives, daggers, whatever?"

Caldina looked thoughtful, then turned around to pick up an elaborately decorated box. She opened it and showed the contents to Ren, "Here use these. I know you didn't 'think real hard' or anything, but these are good daggers. I bought them at a Chizetan market place before I left. They're the best I could find and the best I've ever owned," she pat her belly with a small grin, "I won't be using them anytime soon anyways. And you can give 'em back to me when you get your escudo and whatnot."

Ren looked down then away, "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Well," Sierra continued, "Since you boys seem to know weapons a bit better than the girls did why don't you just pick one? It doesn't really matter that much anyway. You'll be back with the escudo in no time." With a glance at Yasuo Corsica giggled, "Don't worry I'll help you."

By the end of it Ren had Caldina's daggers, Yasuo had a very nice saber-like short sword, and Kakeru had the long sword that looked almost exactly like Hikaru's, which he had picked up the day before to fend of Clef. They were prepared. The only thing they were missing was Makona. "But," Sierra said with a heavy sigh, "There's no way to contact him, wherever he is. You'll just have to make due until he finds you."

"Oh!" Corsica gasped, "Armor!"

"That's right," Sierra continued. "Come this way. I've kept them in the study. Thank goodness I was able to save them - and the girls' swords for that matter - from the palace. Here they are." They had entered the large study and were now standing before a small case holding three white, fingerless gloves, each set with a different colored stone, blue, green, and red. Sierra opened the case and stared at the contents for a moment before saying, "I don't know which color goes to whom."

"I guess now is the time for the thinking real hard, then," Corsica suggested.

The three men looked at each other and Kakeru shrugged, resigned, "I guess it can't hurt anything but our pride." Yasuo grabbed Ren's arm and dragged him up to stand so that all three of them stood before the case that held the gloves. Ren glared at him but closed his eyes when the other three did.

Sierra watched as the red-jeweled glove started glowing and rose in the air to float in front of Kakeru. Then the blue in front of Ren and the green rose slowly before Yasuo. Yasuo opened one eye, cautiously and gaped at what he saw. Kakeru raised an eyebrow as he put the glove on. Ren stared at the floating glove as if it were covered in green mold but put it on anyway and mumbled, "Kinda weird how it fits."

When Yasuo finally put his on, the three men glowed their respective colors, seemed to disappear for a moment in the light and reappear wearing white breast plates and a single shoulder pad each, armor identical to the first armor worn by the original Magic Knights. Those original Magic knights appeared in the doorway; Hikaru beaming, Umi clapping, and Fuu watching thoughtfully.

Kakeru took Umi's arm and guided her a little away from the others as they all made their way to exit the fortress, "I have to leave, sweet."

Umi laughed, "Oh my brave Magic Knight, don't worry. You'll seriously be back in no time and I'm not going anywhere without you."

He smiled slightly, "You're sure?" he breathed as their mouths met. Umi opened her eyes and realized that . . . EVERYONE was watching them! "Don't you guys have your own goodbyes to say?"

Yasuo looked around then said, "See ya, Hikaru, Fuu!"

"Bye, Yasuo," Fuu replied.

"See you in a few days!" Hikaru waved.

Umi made a face then cried, "Shut up!" as she dragged Kakeru's face to hers. When she was through she pushed him away and waved good-bye. Caldina handed Yasuo a bag food and a few sleeping rolls as she said, "Just until you find Mokona. Well, bye, Y'all. Don't worry Kakeru we'll take good care of Umi! Ren you better not lose my knives! Bye! Bye! . . . Bye!"

And the three Magic knights set out for the Spring of Eterna.

* * *

The three men of Tokyo walked silently down the wide forest path. Kakeru looked down as he sauntered, hands in his pockets. Yasuo eyed his long time friend and smirked. "Thinking of her, Kakeru? We've only been gone two hours."

"Shut up, Yas, you're thinking about my sister just as much," Kakeru replied without thinking, or even looking up.

Yasuo stopped dead, as Ren exploded into a hearty laugh. They all looked at each other and doubled up. Yasuo was on the ground before he gasped, "I can't believe I thought you wouldn't notice!"

Ren leaned against a tree beside the path and grinned, "It was a little obvious."

"Not that obvious," Kakeru defended his friend, "It took me a few years to figure it out." Kakeru studied their companion and estimated, "You're just good at reading people, right?"

Ren blinked and the easy smile vanished from his face, "Yes, I've heard that said about me."

Yasuo stood and said, "Hey we should get going. Fuu said it took them about two days to get there, and they were running most the time. Running!" he cried.

"They must have been in some shape," Kakeru smiled.

"Must have been? Still are," Ren added with a mischievous glint in his eye and dashed down the path.

"Watch it, punk!" Kakeru called and ran after him, with Yasuo close behind.

* * *

Tatra paced the halls of the dark palace aimlessly, wishing to the gods of her home world that she had something to occupy herself with, something to do to keep the horrible thoughts and the darkness that surrounded her at bay. A dark force shared the palace with the prisoners; and they were all prisoners, even Clef. A blind person could see that Clef was the prisoner most heavily guarded. But none of them could leave. The palace doors were opened only for those that Clef gave permission to. And so only those that served could leave and only they would return. Talon had been the last to do so. And the walls of the palace shook with the anger of the being that resided there when Talon returned.

Tatra did not understand its purpose. It seemed bent on the destruction of everything that Cephiro held dear. She had been in the palace for nearly three months now and still had no idea what it was that kept them all there. There was a room in the highest tower: what used to be the crown room where it resided. She had nearly entered it many times, but she could not bring herself to do it. The aura that spilled from that room was pure power and pure corruption. She feared it more than anything.

She kept walking without really paying attention to her path and soon found herself at the entrance to the main garden, overhearing a depressing bit of news.

"Sang Yung! San Yung! Guess what, guess what!" the child Sable ran up to him. She was young and when many of her playmates had disappeared from the palace three months before she had grown attached to the much older but still willing friend.

"What is it, Sable?" he asked with a chuckle as he hefted her onto the bench beside him.

"Clef has given me a game and I am to go out of the palace to play!"

"What kind of game?" said Sang Yung, a bit sobered.

"I am to be a hunter and hunt the bad men in the Forest of Silence," she replied, excited.

"Not Lantis or Ferio? They live in the fortress there now, you know."

"No, Lantis and Ferio are not bad men. These are other men, from another world. Clef said one has Umi under a spell and the other hurt Fuu in their own world," the little girl explained.

"You . . . you mean the Magic Knights?" Sang Yung looked stunned.

"Yes, yes, they've returned. And Clef says I am to help them by getting rid of the bad men." The child looked at the sun and said, "Sang Yung, I should go. Do you want to come with me?"

He smiled, "I doubt Clef would allow that, Sable. You go and be careful."

"I will!" She cried as she ran off through the long corridor.

After Sable left Tatra showed herself, "Frightenin' news, Sang Yung."

"Yes," he agreed without looking up. "If the Magic Knights are back Clef's got to be after Umi."

"And if he's sendin' Sable after these men that came with the girls, they may not be as bad as Clef is makin' her believe." Sang Yung sighed and Tatra continued, "We can only wait and see."

* * *

All of the people at the fortress sat down to dinner that night at the end of the great long hall that had held the girl's swords. It was not a silent dinner. All there laughed and remembered old times. The girls discovered that Corsica had actually been there with them in the palace during the battles between them and the minions of Debonair. At one point Umi asked, "Sierra, you said something about Clef opening a school for children with magic?"

"Yes, well an informal school. They were six students who lived with him, well with all of us at the palace and had daily lessons from him."

"And those are the children that act as his minions now? Has the power that has corrupted Clef corrupted them as well?" Fuu asked, with concern in her voice.

Lantis answered, "Well, only four of the six are there. Liesse was one and Mira too. Delorian may have been corrupted but we know that Talon was under Delorian's control. We know that Sable and Minica are there but we have not heard from them. The Princess Tatra of Chizeta and Sang Yung of Fahren, we know are there as well as his prisoners."

"What were Tatra and Sang Yung doing there?" Hikaru said.

"Acting as ambassadors; all three countries sent us ambassadors as we did to them after the Rebirth, but Geo and Zazu had to return to Autozam right before Clef's betrayal. We sent massages for them not to return until we have sorted this out. There is no sense in their getting mixed up in this as Tatra and Sang Yung are."

"That was good thinking," Fuu commented as Hikaru looked disappointed she could not see her friends again.

"What are the specific powers of these children?" Umi inquired.

"Delorian's you know and Talons' as well; he raises the dead using patterns of pebbles and bones. Minica's power is directly related to ice as Alcione's was. And Sable's power is similar to Ascot's. She speaks to animals and can ask or force them to do her bidding," Lantis explained.

Ascot corrected him, "Actually there is not much of a connection between our powers. Sable speaks to animals not beasts or monsters. And she doesn't summon them: they come at her call. She can speak to any animal with her mind. I can only understand my own beasts." He grinned at Lantis who looked a tad annoyed.

"So what do we do now?" Hikaru asked after the meal was over. They all knew that she meant until the Magic Knights came back from the spring.

"Well," Lafarga answered, "We keep sending out patrols, we keep training, and we keep up our defenses."

Umi smiled at her two friends from her own world, "We all need to brush up on our fighting skills."

"Maybe not you two," Fuu laughed, "Hikaru has kendo and you're still fencing. But I know I need it, I quit archery a long time ago and I've never touched a sword except in Cephiro."

* * *

They had been walking for a very long time. It was nearing dusk when Ren finally just stopped and said, "Do we even know where we're going?"

"What?" Kakeru surfaced from deep thought.

"How do we know it's on this path? Or what if we got off the path by accident? How do we know this is the way to that spring?" he elaborated. All three of them looked at each other. No one knew.

"Well, let's sit and think about this for a minute," Kakeru suggested.

Ren shook his head, "You guys sit; I'm gonna go take a piss."

"Nice," Yasuo said sarcastically.

And Yasuo and Kakeru sat until they heard a stifled yelp from the direction Ren had gone. They hurried over to find him, knife in hand, trying to get up from under a small, limp, and bleeding horse-like creature with a small horn protruding from its forehead. "Ren!" Yasuo cried, "You killed a unicorn!"

Ren looked up and seemed almost panicked, "It attacked me!"

"Unicorns don't attack people, Ren," Kakeru reasoned.

"It did. I'm not lying."

Yasuo walked over to pull the creature off of Ren as he lamented, "Unicorns cure wounds and purify water and prance around looking pretty. They don't attack people."

Ren stood up and tried to brush the blood off his pants as he said coldly, "Look, you don't have to believe me, but _this_ unicorn . . ."

"My unicorn!" a small voice pierced through their conversation. "You bad men, you killed my unicorn!" They looked around and found a small girl of six or seven seething in the bushes.

Ren really looked panicked now, "I didn't know it belonged to someone. And it attacked me! I'm sorry little girl . . ."

Other forest animals started to gather around the girl. "You killed my unicorn," she said in a deadly serious voice, "Now, now you're going to pay!" As she said it, all the animals around her advanced on the three Magic Knights.


	9. Escudo

All three knights stood back to back as the fauna of the forest slowly paced toward them. Ren steeled himself and took his knives firmer in his fists. He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Kakeru draw his sword then shake his head. Yasuo and Kakeru looked at each other and then without speech or gesture, they took off. Ren stumbled as a hissed "What the hell?" escaped his lips and he ran after them.

They ran for a long time before Ren even tried looking back. Kakeru looked back too and they stopped as they saw that no animals were chasing them. All three of them stood panting in the middle of the path as Ren glared at his comrades. "So," he gasped, "what was that?"

"I don't know about you," Kakeru replied between breaths, "But I'd like to put off fighting that girl's animals as long as possible. Maybe until we've figured out a plan of attack. Or if we can talk to her and explain what happened, maybe we won't have to kill any cute little forest creatures."

Ren lowered his head and nodded in agreement: it was a good plan, well thought out and do-able. He had underestimated Kakeru. He wouldn't again.

"So you think she'll come after us again?" Yasuo asked. Ren coughed, hiding his disdain as he lowered himself to the ground. He hadn't underestimated that one.

Kakeru answered his friend, "Remember Lantis said there were other kids in the palace with Clef, other than that Talon kid? This girl has to be one of those students."

Ren hadn't remembered that, "So if this girl's working for Clef, why do you think she'll let us talk her into not fighting?"

"She's a little girl, Ren. She can't possibly be in league with Clef." They were all sitting on the edge of the path.

"What do we do now?" Yasuo asked, "We can't just wait for her to come after us."

Kakeru stood up, "I guess we keep going, we have to get to the Spring of Eterna some time."

Ren stayed sitting, thinking as the other two stood to leave. Yasuo started off, but Kakeru waited for Ren to stand. He looked out, off the path into the forest as he said quietly, "Kakeru . . ." he trailed off then smirked cynically with a little laugh. "It takes a lot of balls to say something like that, 'we have to get to the spring some time.'" Kakeru laughed tugged at Ren's shoulder urging him forward. As they walked Ren continued, "I, uh, I made some assumptions about you, about a lot of the people I've met here. But I was wrong about you." He looked down and said fiercely, "And I'm not afraid to point out my mistakes. I was wrong and I'm sorry."

Kakeru turned his head to try and look in his eyes, "It's okay, man. I made assumptions too, we all do. But does it make you think maybe you were wrong about other people too?"

Ren laughed, "Yeah, probably. I don't think so about him, though," he gestured to Yasuo, walking serenely ahead tossing around some kind of nut he had picked up.

"I think Yasuo will surprise you then. He's not tough like you or me, certainly not like you, but he has a big heart. And hey, it's the land of the will, right? Look at what _Hikaru_ accomplished here."

Ren laughed, thinking of Kakeru's sister, but he soon sobered, "Well, _you_ haven't been wrong yet, so I'll think about it."

* * *

Umi laid on the bed in the room that had been allotted to her and Kakeru. She sighed glancing at her rapier in the corner. She hadn't wanted this again. All she wanted was a quiet life with Kakeru at his school. There was a knock on her door and she sat up as she said, "Come in."

Ascot entered, and Umi jumped up to take his hand and pull him toward the bed. As they sat down she said, "Ascot, I'm so glad it's you. I've wanted to talk to you, but I haven't had the nerve to search you out."

Ascot grinned, "I haven't been hiding, Umi."

Tears came to her eyes as she burst out, "Oh, I know, Ascot. I'm so sorry, I've been avoiding you, I know it but . . . I'm so sorry I hurt you and I didn't mean to."

"Whoa, whoa, Umi. I'm not accusing you, I was just teasing. And I know you're sorry." Ascot regarded her with pity, "Umi, _I'm_ sorry, about everything."

She looked horrified, "Oh God, Ascot, this is in no way your fault. I . . . Ascot you have to know that I only . . . Kakeru never would have had a chance if I hadn't given up all hope of ever coming back here."

"But you would have been waiting for Clef anyway," he smiled but there was still pain in his eyes.

"Oh," she lowered her gaze, "Ascot, I never meant to hurt you, I just didn't understand. When I realized how you felt, I was just . . . sick . . . at the thought, that I caused you so much grief. I'm so sorry."

He took her face in his hands as he looked in her eyes, "I know, Umi, and I forgive you." He kissed her lightly on the forehead as she whispered, "Thank you." She leaned into him and they embraced like the old friends they were.

She pulled away a few moments later to smooth her hair and wipe the tears from her face. They both stood, and she said as she took his hand, "Please don't misunderstand, though, Ascot. I do love Kakeru, more than I think I ever loved Clef."

Ascot smiled at her, "I know. I have seen you two together. And I know he loves you, so I can be content, knowing that you're happy."

"Oh, Ascot!" she cried happily and threw herself on him, "Why is it that people here are so good to me when I don't deserve it?"

He laughed as he set her back on the ground, "You deserve it."

* * *

The three men peered wonderingly at the Spring of Eterna. "This has to be it," Yasuo concluded, "It still doesn't look like much though."

"I think we have to get to higher ground," Kakeru said as he began to climb the small crag of rock surrounding the paper-thin line that was the spring. When the three of them were on top, gazing down at the placid pool below them they realized the true wonder of the place that would give them Escudo.

"We have to jump into that?" Yasuo asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Kakeru breathed.

Ren sighed, "Well, gents, we know how this works. Let's just do it." And he stripped off his jacket and jumped in.

"Ugh, not even a bye your leave," Kakeru joked as he and Yasuo stared at each other, and he jumped in after, leaving his friend to yet again bring up the rear.

* * *

The thing about this quest to find Escudo and the rest of it, Kakeru mused as they plunged into the two dimensional pool, was that they knew precisely what was supposed to happen. Kakeru didn't panic as he saw his companions disintegrate next to him. He knew that they were simply going to their respective tests. He sat back and let the force moving him take him where he was meant to go. He watched as the ground rushed up to meet him and managed to fall out of the ceiling and land in a crouch smoothly on the cave floor. Too bad no one was there to see his extremely cool feat. Anyway, it had to be a cave if anything else. The walls were curved and the floor made of some kind of red stone with white and yellow swirls imbedded in it. He looked ahead to where he knew a figure would be standing to do battle with him. He knew it would be someone he loved, but when he saw her, it dawned on him that this would still be tricky. Umi stood before him. She was wearing the same blue dress that she had come here in. It could very well be her. None of the people that had appeared before the girls seven years earlier could have been the people they seemed to be. But Umi was in Cephiro, it was possible that she could somehow have been brought to the spring. The figure Umi or not, attacked him.

"Water Dragon!" she screamed. The water hit him like a ton of bricks, throwing him across the cave and against its wall. Still, Kakeru hesitated, in a world where anything was possible, Umi could very well be being forced to attack him. The others said nothing about the assailants speaking. Kakeru stood up and faced her again, "Umi!" he called to her. He felt like a fool, if this really was just a trick of the pool he was wasting his time. But he wanted to be sure. How could he be sure? As he debated all this in his mind, his fiancé continued to pummel him with magical water attacks.

* * *

Yasuo forgot completely about the story the girls had told until after Ren and Kakeru disappeared. He forgot entirely until he landed on his backside on the floor of an emerald green room. "Oh, yeah. A test," he muttered as he stood up, rubbing his ass. He turned, saw her, and groaned, loudly. Good thing it wasn't really her or she would have sprinted over and backhanded him, screeching the entire time about how many years they've known each other, or how much she cares about him but still can't stand him, or something. We'll he couldn't stand her either and she knew it. Aoi didn't attack right away as he expected her to. And he was distracted for a second because she appeared wearing the gown she had on the night they went to her father's anniversary dinner. He was a big company head, thirty years working for his corporation, so they threw him a big party, everyone was invited, family, friends, daughters' longtime boyfriends. Why was she wearing that gown? He guessed it was because he always liked remembering her like that, with her hair in curls down her back, and the heavy velvet skirt that trailed uselessly yet elegantly behind her. That was the last night before things got ugly again, they always got bad and then good again, but that was the last really beautiful memory of her. She attacked. Well, she really didn't do it was more of a force in front of her, a wind that sent him sprawling. Stupid! He was just standing there, waiting. He wished out his saber and rushed her. He was looking forward to it; he hardly ever got a chance to really hit her when she deserved it. But as he swung, his blade cut through air and she disappeared, swoop-backed evening gown and everything.

* * *

Ren watched calmly as the others left him and rolled neatly when he hit the floor. He stood in the blue cavern, took it in with an eyebrow raised, and turned to see who it would be before him. He scowled at the girl in the wheel chair. It was cheap making him attack his sick sister, but then it wasn't really her, he knew that for certain. He summoned Caldina's daggers and stabbed through the air, before the shade even had a chance of striking him.

* * *

How could he know if it was really she or not? It was using her magic and it spoke. Why was this so goddamn difficult? The girls' test was downright stupid, why should he have to be faced with this unanswerable question. And that was just it; it was unanswerable. Kakeru screamed his frustration, called his sword and sprinted at her. He stopped dead, because when his fingers touched the figure she vanished. He let out a dejected sigh, all he wanted was to grab her, he hadn't even made up his mind whether it was really she or not. Well, it obviously wasn't and he felt like an idiot for even considering it. Then, to dig the knife in harder and even wiggle it around a little bit, when he materialized next to his companions, in a room empty of everything except for three crystals, obviously Escudo, Ren peered at him derisively and asked, "What took so long, chief?" 


	10. In the Middle Alone

She stood in the wide courtyard on the west side of the fortress. The target was a good distance away and the bow she used was, incredibly, the one she had carried across Cephiro when she and Umi and Hikaru had gone on their own quest seven years ago. Now she looked forward to another quest, that of a new set of magic knights. She let out a sigh, and then let her arrow fly. She needed to get out of this place. Right on time, the reason she needed to run, walked up to her.

"Nice shot," Ferio said, hands in his pockets.

Fuu looked down, "No, I'm very rusty."

He sauntered up to the tree she had painted as a target and examined it, his face inches from the arrow imbedded in the center. "Looks well oiled to me," he looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

She laughed awkwardly and walked over to retrieve the arrow. He didn't move, even when she leaned in to yank the arrow out. He stayed close. "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, Ferio," she stammered.

"Yes you do," he spoke quietly, his voice thick with the insinuation.

She pushed him away and said, "We can't do this, Ferio - you have responsibilities. You don't want to hurt Corsica; you don't want this, neither do I." She said the words forcefully to make sure she believed them herself.

"Are you so sure. Fuu . . ."

She lost her composure, and screamed at him with all of her frustration, "If you wanted this, _why didn't you wait?_" She continued, conscious of her outburst and more quite for it, " I admit I didn't think we were coming back either. All of Cephiro's problems were over. I tried to move on. I . . . I'm glad . . . I'm glad you managed it. But now that you have moved on we can't go back. It . . . it's just not fair; to us and more importantly to Corsica and her child." She breathed deeply as if she were out of breath; she was, but she couldn't explain why.

There was a long pause while they just looked at each other. Finally he spoke. "Fuu," he sighed, "You are amazing. And . . . I'm sorry. I am. Everything you said is true. I couldn't, I mean, it's just not in me to wait so . . . and Corsica was here . . . and she was beautiful. I thought you weren't coming back. I thought . . . why not? I can never have the one I really want."

"Ferio," she gazed at him, sympathy and longing in her heart. She touched his shoulder hesitantly but he flinched back. "Don't," he looked down, "I'm sorry. I know I messed everything up and everything I'm feeling right now is all my fault."

"No . . ."

"It is. I don't see you coming back here with a husband in tow."

She was growing angry now, "You think I didn't try? I've been in three serious relationships since we went back home, all failed. But I tried. And don't think I didn't see this coming either."

"What? Now, wait a second," he started to defend himself but she was quicker.

"Remember Innova? No wait, what did he call himself when he pretended to be a woman? And got you obviously interested in him."

"That was a mistake, Fuu!" he cried.

"Like Corsica is a mistake now? Is that what you're telling me Ferio!" she railed at him and couldn't believe he was doing this.

"NO!"

"Good." They stared at each other. There was nothing else to say. He wasn't happy but he wasn't unhappy and he was stuck. She wasn't happy, but Ferio couldn't make her happy. Fuu knew that now. She couldn't depend on a life in Cephiro. When she thought about it she realized that she was the one in the middle, or had been until now. Hikaru clung to her dream of a life in Cephiro with Lantis. Umi had abandoned hers and found a life with Kakeru. Yet Fuu had failed at both. She had nothing, no dream and no reality. "I'm sorry," she whispered to Ferio, then practically ran away, into the fortress, trying to find a secluded corner to cry away her horrible thoughts. As she tore through the endless maze of hallways and tiny rooms and finally reached a larger courtyard with a fountain and some sparse green, she felt a hand on her arm pulling her back, turning her around. She desperately tried to wipe away the tears that were already falling, but all she managed to do was jar her glasses off of her face. They landed with a small crash on the floor of the courtyard.

"Oh, Fuu, I'm sorry," Ferio said from behind her. Of course, it was his hand on her arm.

"It's alright," she replied quietly, "I don't need them here anyway."

He turned her so that she looked at him. He wiped away the remnants of her tears and asked softly, "Why are you crying, why did you run off like that?"

She suddenly realized how he would see this, "It wasn't because of you Ferio! I don't want you to think that."

She must have sounded hysterical or something because he smoothed down her hair saying, "Alright, alright. I believe you. So why did you run off?"

Fuu told him. "I don't have anything. My life is empty. There's nothing. And I don't know what to do."

He sighed and took her head between his hands, "I wish there was something I could do to help you."

"Just stay here with me, and don't talk about anything." She demanded and rested her head on his shoulder as she wept.

* * *

The three Magic Knights sort of floated above the two-dimensional pool and were set down by the force that lifted them slowly and elegantly. 

"Did you get any?" a small voice queried from a few feet away. All three men were instantly on guard and at least two inwardly groaned.

Kakeru squinted, trying to see the vengeful little girl in the bushes she hid behind, "Any what?"

"Escudo, stupid. That's what people get at the Spring of Eterna."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kakeru replied cautiously. "Yes, we got some."

The little girl crept slowly out of the bushes. "But that doesn't make any sense." She crossed her little arms and pouted, thinking hard on something. The Magic Knights relaxed a bit, and Yasuo slowly inched toward her. He was three feet away from her, kneeling on the ground when he inquired, "What doesn't make any sense?"

She looked at him, squarely, "If you could get escudo from the spring, that means you can't be bad men, and that means Clef lied. Why would Clef lie?" The child was close to tears now, so Yasou took a chance and gathered her in his arms, comforting and reassuring her as Kakeru explained, "It may not be that Clef lied, sweetheart. It could be that Clef has just been lied to, and because he believed what he was told, he lied to you without knowing it."

The little girl pulled away from Yasuo, not forcefully, but simply to drag her arm across her face, attempting to dry her eyes. She succeeded only in smearing the tears more, so Yasuo tenderly finished the job for her, while introducing himself and his compatriots to her.

"I'm Sable," she said in response, then looked toward Ren and announced, "It wasn't your fault my unicorn died. I shouldn't have sent him after you."

Ren looked embarrassed as he put his hands in his pockets and replied, "It . . . it's okay. No harm done." He was not a man used to children.

Then an idea struck Kakeru, "Sable," he asked gently, "Do you really want to go back to the palace?"

"Um, it's okay there, I guess."

He laughed a little, "What I mean is, don't you miss the people at the fortress? You never get to see them anymore, right? I know Sierra and Caldina must miss you a lot, along with everybody else."

"Seia! Oh, I wanna see Sierra, and Lantis! Lantis never comes home anymore," Sable shouted excitedly.

Yasuo laughed, "Well, then you should come back with us. Ren can carry you on his shoulders if you like."

"What!"

"Yay! Yay! Yay!"

Ren looked daggers at Yasuo as the other two laughed. He sighed as he picked the girl up and threw her onto his shoulders.

* * *

Hikaru picked herself up quickly, ready for another attack. The last one had knocked her clear off of her feet. He waited testing her out, circling with his massive sword raised parallel to the ground. She was not a patient person, and so ran at him, her own sword raised high. She knew he would underestimate the attack; think it a frustrated and unskillful maneuver. But, oh, he was wrong and this time it was he that went flying, sort of. It was about as high in the air as she thought he could go. "Got you that time, Lantis!" 

From his sprawled out form she heard a quick laugh, "That you did."

"You so thought you were gonna beat me," she rubbed the defeat in, hard.

"Yes, I did," he concurred. "You fooled me," still chuckling.

They were in the front courtyard, practicing. What else would they be doing? Well, never mind; she knew what else they could be doing. But they wouldn't be doing that in the courtyard. Lantis picked himself up and they smiled at each other. They laughed when they heard a muffled, "Well, how do you get back in?" from outside of the wall. Yasuo.

"Remember the story, stupid!" Hikaru yelled to them.

"Yeah!" a child's voice cried indignantly from the other side. "You knock, stupids! Everybody knows that."

Lantis looked amazed, "Sable?" he asked hoarsely as the wall disappeared, revealing a small brown haired child of about seven.

"Lantis!" she screamed and hurled herself at him. Hikaru laughed and gazed bemusedly at the pair, as did the three men from Tokyo, while the child admonished the freakishly tall warrior who held her in his arms, "You never come home anymore, Lantis. Dellorian always says he didn't know when you're coming home and Clef yelled at me the last I asked him. Talon's been sad and he doesn't talk to Lori or Mini anymore. You should talk to him. You always make things better. But you weren't there when they all got sad. Lori was sad too you know. So I had to play with Sang Yung all the time, but I tried not to bother him like you said I should, or shouldn't? "

"Okay, okay. Whatever you say, Lady Sable," he quieted her, smoother her hair with a hand the size of her entire head. "But I don't know if I'll be able to deliver all of your requests."

"That's alright, Lantis," she hugged him comfortingly, as if he was all torn up about it. Hikaru laughed delightedly, but inside. It would be a terrible thing to ruin this solemn moment with laughter. She moved to great her brother and his companions, but Sable clamored down from her mountain and reached them first, dragging at Ren's hand and demanding, "You have to piggy me into the house! Yasoo said you would take me _all_ the way there!" Hikaru really did laugh this time, as Ren yet again glared at Yasuo, but this time with no hesitation scooped the girl onto his shoulders and walked toward the fortress.

* * *

Umi and Fuu sat at the round table in Presea's study with Sierra, Caldina, Corsica and Liesse. Fuu had major trepidations concerning their upcoming journey, "You say we must go with the Magic Knights to find the Rune Gods and discover our own new power. But how are _any_ of us to find the Shrines without Mokona's guidance?" 

"I understand your concerns," the young seer replied, "But really, this is all the information that I have been given. It could be that Mokona will come to you when he feels the time is right. He might not return at all. I don't know what to tell you about any of the specifics."

"Well, this is a fine mess," Caldina muttered, "Why did that little fur ball wander off anyhow?"

"Why was he ever here?" Corsica wondered.

"He was a guide to us and he gave us provisions on our first quest here in Cephiro," Umi defended her small white friend. "The question is why he didn't wander off after Princess Emeraude was defeated," Umi mused. "He actually served no purpose to anyone when Cephiro was crumbling."

"He gave us comfort and friendship." Fuu rembered.

"And comic relief," Caldina added. Umi laughed out loud remembering her own antics with the little marshmallow.

"Where would he have gone if he did leave then? Cephiro was completely uninhabitable. He had to wait until we fixed it." Fuu returned to Umi's previous question.

Sierra stated with downcast eyes, "Mokona has always been a mystery. He was even to Clef." That sobered the group.

Fuu spoke up again, "But this is irrelevant. If Mokona shows himself he will do so when he feels that we need him. But in the mean time we must plan some sort of route to search for the Shrines."

"Well we know basically where they all are, right?" Caldina asked, "The ocean, a floating mountain, and a volcano. You just have to look around those places."

"Right!" Umi agreed, "We can eliminate places like forests, rivers, valleys, and mountains. I mean the non-floating kind."

Sierra took the initiative, "I know there's a map in here somewhere." But before she could rise from her seat Liesse spoke.

"The Magic Knights have returned. They bring another with them," and she fell out of her farseeing trance.

"What?" practically every woman at the table shouted at once. "I don't know!" the girl cried, "Why don't you go find out something for yourself! Geez!" And all of them were laughing as they rushed out of the study.


	11. So Much Alike

Hi. Um. I'd just like to say that I love these people. Not just the CLAMP's people. In fact I love my original's better, I think. At least Ren and Kakeru. You have to love them. Yasuo's kind of a wimp, so don't love him if you don't want to. But love the other two, they're so cute! Right, chief?

Both parties met in the gathering room. "Caldina! Caldina! Caldina!" Sable cried as she squirmed to get down from Ren's shoulders. Fuu studied the man and the child as they untangled themselves and she ran to Caldina to be hugged and kissed and pinched and fussed over. Fuu simply could not comprehend this man. And she had no idea why she so wanted, so needed, to understand him. Their eyes met from across the room. He had caught her watching him and winked, good-naturedly. She blushed and turned her attention to Kakeru and Umi. She never tired of watching them. "Oh my brave Magic Knight," Umi was playing, "Was the trial very hard?"

"He was the last one to finish!" Yasuo called from across the room where he was being drilled by Corsica.

Umi's face turned into a caricature of concern, "You did get the escudo? Didn't you Kakeru?"

"Stop making fun of me," he laughed as his face turned bright red. "I got it."

"But what took so long?" she asked innocently.

"That's what I wanted to know, chief," Ren probed from behind Kakeru's ear.

Umi stared as Kakeru lightly brushed him off. "Bond much?" she asked amazed.

"A little," her fiancé smiled as Ren sauntered away from them.

He walked slowly over in Fuu's direction and passed through the doorway she was standing in. He smiled as he passed her and continued his ambling pace down the hallway. Curious, she followed him. Where was he going? He didn't know the ins and outs of the fortress. They somehow ended up in the little herb nook-with-fountain they had talked in two days before. She stood in the doorway again as he leaned against the fountain and swirled his hand through the clear water. They just looked at each other, studying. He spoke first, "This is one hell of a place."

"It grows on you," she replied. "Umi hated it when we first came."

"I bet she hates it more now, what with creepy-gray-haired guy obsessing over her," he observed with arched eyebrows.

"You were watching?"

"It was quite a raucous."

"You watch a lot, don't you; study things?"

"Don't you?"

He answered a question with a question and it pissed her off. "So what have you discovered?" she asked heatedly.

"I could ask you the same." His grin was infuriating.

"Well you didn't, I asked you."

He looked down and away, almost serious this time, "I think I require further observation before I can answer that."

Fuu glared at him, furious, as she shot back, "I think I've had just enough," and stalked away, looking for something to calm her down. There was no reason for her anger, but it was there and she couldn't shake it. She wanted to know him, to understand him. "Don't you?" he had said. "I could ask you the same." She stopped and he shoulders eased from their tense anger to relaxed realization. They were so much alike, her and Ren.

* * *

Umi finally had Kakeru to herself. They were in the room they had been allotted. Kakeru set his sword against the wall in the corner; the place that seemed to have become its home, while they were in the fortress anyway. "We'll be leaving as soon as Corsica makes your weapons and we can get some supplies together," she said as they both undressed. She continued, "No one knows if he's going to come back this time. Hopefully we'll be okay without him." He had pulled her into bed and was slowly massaging her body. "Are you sure it isn't me who should be giving the massage?" she joked.

"Umi, please stop talking."

She laughed and they both stopped talking.

* * *

The next morning, they lay on the bed and held each other. Her head rested on his chest as his hand lazily smoothed her hair. "I missed you," he said as he bent his head down to kiss the top of hers.

"It was like two days you were gone," she laughed, "anyway, we won't be apart for a while now. We have to actually find all three Shrines."

"Wasn't hard for you was it?"

"We had Mokona, darling. He made things a lot easier for us. But we don't know if he'll return."

"We'll manage," Kakeru said off hand, "What I want to know is, when are we getting married?"

The idea of getting married in Cephiro made her laugh, until she remembered. She shot into a sitting position and stared at her left hand, "Oh, Kakeru! I can't believe I forgot! The ring, Clef threw the ring in the pond." She was shaking from the memory, and he quickly took her in his arms.

"It's okay," he said cradling her head in his hands, "It's okay. Remember, it's just a symbol. Its absence doesn't change anything between us."

She nodded, tears still streaming. "I know. But he . . . oh, I loved that ring."

He smiled and kissed her forehead, "I know, Umi. But it doesn't give him any power over us."

Her brow furrowed, she ceased crying and thought, "But he thought it did. How could he have known about the ring, yet not understood what it was?" She remembered back to the night they had arrived Cephiro. They had had a conversation in the study after they had told the whole tale. He had shown himself at the pond and spoke about what someone had done to her. Then he saw the ring and. . . "Kakeru! I know what happened," she exclaimed as she jumped out of bed and rushed to get dressed, all the while explaining her theory.

* * *

Hikaru stood with Lantis in the dinning hall, pouring over large and incomplete maps of the new Cephiro. The sheets of parchment were large and some were torn or indecipherable from water damage. Lantis frowned deeper, "This is all we have," he explained. "Even if we had been able to make it out of the palace with all the maps we had of Cephiro, they still wouldn't have given us a complete view of the terrain."

Hikaru traced a finger languidly down a twisting river in the middle of one of the sheets of parchment. "I don't know how we're going to manage this without Mokona," she said, gazing at the maps yet not really seeing them. Lantis placed a comforting arm across her shoulders. How could Cephiro be bigger than she remembered?

Umi came running up to them with Kakeru close behind. "Lanits!" she called, "Lantis, there you are!"

"What is it?" He asked concernedly, stepping away from Hikaru.

"Oh, don't worry," Umi said realizing how she and Kakeru must look, "No attacks or anything. I just . . ."

Kakeru finished for her, "We know why Clef came here and why he threw her ring in the pond."

Hikaru was startled, "Is that what he threw? We heard you scream but no one knew what he had done."

Her friend nodded as Hikaru moved to hug her, "It was the engagement ring."

Lantis turned to Kakeru and her brother continued in a hushed and serious tone, "We think he must have been watching us. Earlier on the night he came here, Umi and I were in the study discussing certain things and she held up the ring and said something to the effect of 'this ring means that I love you.' We think he took it to mean, 'this ring makes me love you.'"

Umi finished, "And so he came here, thinking to free me from Kakeru's spell."

Hikaru snorted derisively. "So what does all this tell us?" she asked, knowing Lantis had already put it all together.

"It tells us that Clef has a way to spy on us, even here. But it doesn't tell us whether or not he is being controlled," He explained

Umi jumped to Clef's defense, "But doesn't this mistake prove he's being manipulated?"

Kakeru took her hand and said softly, "He could have misinterpreted what you said all by himself, love."

Umi put her hands to her face and cried, "It can't be him that's doing all this. It just can't be!"

Kakeru held Umi tightly and she leanded into him, as Hikaru's lover looked down on her, his frown ever deepening, and said, "Love makes people do strange things."

Hikaru took his hand and added, their gazes still locked, "Especially unrequited love."

Umi cried harder.


	12. Turned

Caution! Massive cliffhanger! But don't worry, I know what happens next, for a change. Um, hope to get another chappie done today or tomorrow. Hope you like it and hope you can't wait to read what comes next!

Kakeru held his fiancé as she wept for her old lover. She had been crying a lot recently and he hoped for her sake that they would be able to finish this quickly and get home. But she had been crying at home too. Dreams, she had been having those dreams at home. It was Clef. Clef was causing all of this sadness. He felt his fists clench. He was breathing harder. He was angry but he fought to keep it down. How could he be angry with someone who was being controlled by some sort of dark force? What if that wasn't the case? What if it was? He was fuming anyway. She didn't deserve this sadness. They were supposed to be happy, in love, and getting married. And whether he was in control or not, Clef was the reason everything had gone wrong. Kakeru swallowed his anger and led Umi back to their room.

"I'm sorry," she said as her tears started drying up and she sat on the bed. "I'm being so stupid, crying like this all the time. We have things we should be doing."

He gazed at her sadly. Her sadness wasn't stupid, but it shouldn't be happening either. He didn't say that. She saw Clef as a victim, a victim of her love. If he knew Umi, she'd soon be pushing him away, worried he would turn to the dark side or whatever because she loved him. He said, "Don't worry, it's early still. And we aren't scheduled to leave the fortress until tomorrow."

She sighed and flopped down on the bed, "It is early," she agreed. "You don't mind if I go back to sleep, do you?"

"No, I'm just going to go down and see if I can find the guys and Corsica; see if we can get this weapon making done with," he replied. He then kneeled on the bed and kissed her soundly. "I love you," he said his face inches from hers, "And I'm not going anywhere or turning into anything, got it?"

She smiled but he saw the tears well in her eyes again. "Got it," she replied, nodding with faux sincerity.

He raised himself a little, but still held his body over hers, "I mean it, Umi." He sat down hard on the bed and pulled her up to sit with him. He held her close to him and whispered in her ear, "This isn't your fault, so don't you dare. Don't you dare push me away."

She gazed at him, eyes wide. The tears in them still hadn't overflowed. "Kakeru, I . . ."

"I know you," he stated simply.

She nodded and pressed herself against him. "Thank you," she said into his shoulder.

* * *

Yasuo and Corsica stood in the center of the Creation Room and she explained to him the overwhelmingly simple process. "All I need is the Escudo and the will to create the weapons. You see, I wear this pretty dress and the forging is just an extension of my will."

Yasuo looked at her incredulously, "That's it?"

"Yup," she smiled and glowed the way only a pregnant woman can glow.

"Okay. So if all it takes is a dress and the will, why can't Sierra do it? Why can't anyone do it?"

"She looked surprised but replied quickly, "Well yes, that question has an answer. You see . . ."

But she never finished because right then Kakeru and Ren walked in. Kakeru smiled as he approached the earlier participants. Ren scowled and looked blackly at Corsica, "Let's get this over with."

She appeared a bit startled, glanced at Yasuo and replied, "Oh, uh, okay." She stepped into the precise center of the room and directed, "Stand in a triangle around me and will the ore out of your jewels, like you do your present weapons."

They did just that and she commenced her strange ritual. Yasuo watched her. Her display certainly was beautiful. She kicked her limbs out and they (apparently being adorned with bracelets) made lovely bell noises. Her various veils moved of their own accord and wrapped themselves around the crystals. It was extremely captivating, yet seemed entirely unnecessary, if all it took was will to accomplish the forging. Yasuo sighed. This world was completely beyond him.

* * *

Ren watched the three crystals glow their respective colors, indifferently. He just wanted this over with. The entire Magic Knight thing. It was just one big pain. He needed to be back in Tokyo. Who knew what Midori was doing without him, without the money that he still hadn't got her. He needed to get out of this place.

He was dragged out of his thoughts as he saw that Corsica was done. The veils of white fabric jutting from her costume were now encircling three swords, each a with a different color handle(?). He didn't know these goddamn sword and sorcery terms. He waited as Kakeru walked to the red weapon. Kendo-boy hefted it gently, felt its balance and gave it a few test swings. Yasuo approached the green and lifted it like he thought it was going to bite him. He actually dropped it with a large clang on the hard stone floor. "Its way too light!" he exclaimed. Corsica laughed at him.

Ren sighed as they all looked toward him. He walked up to the floating weapon but as he drew near he saw that it was not one sword. In fact, it was not a sword at all. There were two medium length knives with straight hilts that blended almost seamlessly into the blades. The blades themselves were straight and paper thin, flexible just how he liked them. He took one in each hand and looked ironically at Kakeru, "I told you I don't do swords." Kakeru laughed, looked over at Yasuo and Corsica who was trying to show him how to hold the broadsword he had been given, but the thing kept falling to the ground, to heavy for her to hold and laughed again. Ren felt that something strange was happening to him as he smiled, really smiled for the first time in a long time. _I need to get out of here_, he thought desperately, _before this place swallows me whole.

* * *

_

Umi dreamt again. But her visions were hazy. When she awoke she was confused and disoriented. She groaned and moved her hands to rub her eyes. But something held her right arm. She felt hands covering her own and she smiled, about to ask Kakeru just what he thought he was doing, watching her as she slept. But she opened her eyes, and Clef loomed over and held her hand instead. She tried jumping back but he held her arm fast. He gazed at her, concern written all over his face. She was shaking as she asked, "What . . . how do you keep getting in here?"

"No power in Cephiro or your own world, could keep me from you," he replied as if he had waited a lifetime to say those words to her.

She was afraid, but she could feel he needed help. "Alright, then stay here," she said, putting he other hand over his.

He seemed taken aback but shook his head and advanced on her, "No, Umi, my love. You must come with me."

She was scared out of her wits. How could this be Clef? He looked almost totally different. He had the same hair and face, but his eyes were changed to a deep purple instead of the easygoing lavender they had been and he was double the height he previously was. She tried to push him away gently and talk to him reasonably, "Clef, please. Wait, why do we have to leave the fortress? All of our friends are here. Hikaru and Fuu, Lantis and Ascot."

"Not my friends, Umi. My betrayers. They deserted me." He spoke coldly and with a hate she had never heard come out of his mouth. "They betrayed me and they have been lying to you. No."

"Lying to me?" she asked still pushing away his determined advances. Yet she could see he was losing patience.

"Yes!" he cried, "They have been telling you terrible things about me. How I have turned against Cephiro when it is they who have turned."

She sighed and pushed him away harder, "Clef, even I can see that they've been telling the truth!"

He drew away from her sharply and seemed to cringe inwardly. She reached out to him, "Clef . . ." And he struck her, hard and fast, faster than anything she had experienced before. She felt her body fly against the wall before she ever felt the hit to her face. She crumpled to the ground and gasped for air as she heard Clef's voice, as if from far away, screaming at her.

"Nooo," he shrieked, "They've turned even you against me! How could they? Umi! Umi?" He held her as she struggled to breathe and to move away from him. More than anything she needed to get away from him. But she couldn't. He picked her up, even as she struggled, and stood. She heard him say, "We need to get out of here. We have stayed too long."


	13. Strength

OMG! I can't believe I wrote this much today. Guys that's like three chapters. Hurray for me! And for you, cause you get to read it.

Kakeru's smiled faded a bit as he saw the desperation in Ren's eyes. There was something wrong and he was about to ask what, when Lantis burst into the room. All four people turned to the intruder. "Kakeru," he shouted in a big voice that he had not heard come out of the big man before, "He's here, where is she?"

Kakeru's eyes widened as he realized what the swordsman was talking about. He dashed to meet Lantis at the door as he answered, "She's in our room, she was napping." They both sprinted up the stairs. "I felt his presence about two minutes ago, but no one knew where she was," Lantis explained between breaths.

"There's no way he could be after something else?" Kakeru asked hoping.

"He never came here until you showed up. And he's made his intentions toward her abundantly clear."

Lantis burst through the bedroom door first but he didn't go very far in. When he saw the two figures in the room Kakeru skidded to a halt as well. Clef stood in the center of the room. He turned slightly when they came in and Kakeru saw that he held Umi in his arms. She was struggling, but weakly as if she had been hurt. Kakeru felt his anger rise. This, this was the reason that she was crying. He gripped the sword in his hand, his sword, and prepared to rush him, but Lantis held him back. "Why have you come here, Clef?" he asked gruffly.

Clef smirked at his former student; "I'm holding her in my arms, Lantis. You can't hurt her anymore."

Kakeru's body tightened with pent up rage.

"It looks to me like you're the one hurting her Clef. She struggles against your hold and there seems to be bruise on her cheek," Lantis spoke with a menacing calm. "Why did you strike her if you came her to save her?"

"You turned her against me Lantis. She believes the lies you've fed to her. And this boy has stolen her love from me. When she is away from you she will believe me, and she will love me again."

"So you haven't come for her, you've come for yourself, Clef," as he spoke he gestured to Kakeru. His eyes and hands told him, go closer, get near her, but do not attack. "You wish to use her just like I have."

"No, when she shakes the spell she will want to stay with me. She will know that everything I have done has been for her."

Kakeru winced at that as he inched along the far wall, toward the mage holding his bride. That statement was not going to help Umi's view of the situation. If she was even conscious, she had stopped moving and hung limply in Clef's arms.

"Everything? When you destroyed that village? Was that for her?"

"That was for you, Lantis. I knew you and the fairy were hiding there."

"The fairy? You called her by name once, Clef."

"I laughed at her death, swordsman. I knew what it would do to you." Clef's face grew darker with every dark pronouncement. He clung to Umi now, as if she were the last light, keeping him from the abyss. Kakeru didn't know how he would get her away from him, even if he got close enough.

"Primera didn't deserve that fate, Clef. She didn't desert you; she wasn't even at the Palace when we left! I saw the creature you sent after her. I saw her body when it was finished. Why? Why did you do that to her?" Lantis now had to rein his own fury in. Neither of them could risk attacking the mage or he would bolt and they would lose Umi.

"It was for you, Lantis," Clef repeated.

"Why?"

"Because I hate you!" He cried. His fingers dug into Umi's bare arm and she stirred from the obvious pain. Kakeru was almost close enough. Clef still hadn't seen him. All of his attention was on Lantis. Just a few more steps and he could pull it off.

"Why?"

"Because you were strong enough, and I wasn't," Clef choked out, defeated. Kakeru sprinted the last few strides and punched the mage with all his strength. The uppercut sent Clef flying and loosed his hold on Umi. Kakeru caught her easily and backed away until he ran into the other wall and slid down to the floor with Umi still cradled in his arms.

Lantis was in front of them in seconds, sword at the ready. "The next time you come into this fortress I will kill you."

Clef laughed and stood slowly, glaring at them through the hair that had fallen in front of his face, "I will have her eventually here or at the shrines. You cannot guard her forever. She will be mine, as she was meant to be." As he spoke he faded and disappeared.

* * *

Kakeru carried her down to the gathering room, just to get her away from the place she had been attacked. He laid her on one of the benches and sat down on the floor next to her, exhausted somehow. Fuu and Sierra rushed over to examine her, Hikaru hung back a moment, then knelt and settled her attention on him. His sister brushed the hair out of his eyes and did a brief examination, "Not hurt are you?"

"Please," he smiled, "I didn't even lift my new sword."

"It looks like she doesn't have a concussion," Fuu was saying.

"I can't believe he could have hit her that hard," Sierra replied, "He doesn't have that kind of power."

"Or didn't before," Lantis said from the back of the crowd. It parted to make way for him.

"Is she okay," both of her protectors asked at once.

Fuu continued her diagnosis, "She has some bruising on her left shoulder and arm and the right side of her face."

"There are some cracks in the plaster on the wall of your room," Lantis directed his explanation to Kakeru, "He must have struck her from the right side and sent her flying into the wall."

"There are also four small cuts on her right arm," Fuu added, "Like fingernails."

Kakeru responded detachedly, the rage drained from him, "I saw his fingers dig into her arm when you were talking about the fairy. He really hates you for some reason."

"Yes," Lantis confirmed shortly.

Fuu looked at them, "I can use my Healing Wind and that will cure the cuts and bruises, but I don't know when she'll wake up. He hit her very hard, emotionally and physically."

Hikaru gazed sadly at her unconscious friend, "She must not have been expecting it. When have any of us known Clef to raise his hand to anyone?"

Again Fuu continued, "If I don't know when she'll wake up, I don't know what her condition will be when she wakes up, and I don't know if any of this will delay our journey to the shrines. The water shrine is the first."

Ren stepped forward, "Do what you have to do, Fuu. We can all wait a few days if need be."

Caldina put a hand on the outsiders shoulder and smiled, "Right, Ren, it's not like the world's fallin' apart or anythin'."

* * *

Fuu sat with Umi and Kakeru in a different bedroom. They had moved her and what little she and Kakeru had brought with them, thinking that it wouldn't be the most pleasant thing for her to wake up the room she was attacked in. Fuu studied her long-time friend. She lay in the bed, still unconscious but breathing easy. Her hair was perfect as always and flowed around her like the element she controlled. Fuu looked up and saw Kakeru, on the edge of his chair, leaning toward the bed, tensely, his hands clasped together. "She's going to be alright, Kakeru."

"She trusted him!" he exploded, "You know that's why she got hurt."

She stayed calm; it was what he needed, "So you blame her?"

"No, of course not. It's his fault, this is all his fault. He's the reason we're here, he's the reason she's sad here, and he's the reason she was acting so strange at home. She says he's being controlled somehow and she doesn't blame him at all, Fuu. You know she blames herself. She said it on the bird, I remember."

"Umi started that after her parent's divorce, blaming herself for things that go wrong, I mean."

"What? I didn't know that."

"She doesn't talk about that much. She likes to pretend it didn't happen. She remembers them like they were when she was younger. She talked about them a lot; I remember she called their family breakfast the Love-fest. When they broke up she blamed herself, especially when they started fighting over custody. The politician and the successful business woman both felt it would be handy to a have a devastatingly beautiful teenage daughter around."

"Yeah, I heard that part. But I didn't know she hadn't always, you know, done that," he sat down in the opposite chair again, his anger buried for now. She new it would come back when they say Clef again. And they were going to see Clef again.

There was a light knock on the door and Sierra entered. "Liesse has asked that you join her and your companions in the gathering. There is something she wishes to discuss." Kakeru looked hesitant and so she continued, "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to her while I am here, and if she wakes and I will come and get you both."

"Thank you, Sierra," Fuu replied as she stood and waited for Kakeru to exit the room reluctantly before her.


	14. Potential

Ugh, so many typos in the last chapter! Yeah, I just reread my own story. Don't make fun! Typos make me feel stupid. I'll have to fix them later though, don't feel like it now. Anyhoo, yeah, here's the next bit. Hope you enjoy!

Ps. Changed Minica's name to Serie. I like it better. I'll go back to other chapters and change what needs to be changed later. Don't worry!

Delorian sat in the throne room of the palace, avoiding everyone he possibly could. None of his fellow inmates wanted to see him anyway. He sat on the ground before one of the crumbling pillars and leaned his head against the cold, grey marble. He remembered the pillars had been gold once, not so long ago. He held his mask in his hand. It was porcelain and white, an empty, faceless visage. It had no power, only that which he gave it. Even if he had shattered it, Clef would only give him a new one. If it came to that, using his power outside the palace. Clef wouldn't trust any of them for a while, knowing that Sable had left. But he wondered who would be next. Who would be forced to fight against their old friends, practically family? Clef wouldn't let Delorian out of the palace, he knew that. As much as Clef needed him, the mage's master didn't trust him. The force that lived in the crown room knew what Delorian felt, but couldn't predict what he would do. So Clef would do his master's bidding and force Delorian to use his power as he never had before. He couldn't do that to Talon again. But what if he had to? He just didn't know.

Serie was a different story. She believed every word that came out of Clef's mouth. She was too naïve to see what was happening. And she would go out and fight her friends if he asked her to. Delorian hoped she would see the truth with Lantis, Liesse and the other's help. That was if the being that held them all, in their old home, decided to let any of them go.

Tatra paced quietly into his line of sight. He was a danger even to the Chizetan princess, he remembered she was a skilled swordswoman and could also be useful to the force in the tower. No one was safe. He didn't want to hurt anyone and he didn't know what to do. He watched her as she slowly came toward him. "He's gone, Tatra. What keeps you here?"

"You know the answer to that, Lori. Besides, all the doors to the outside are locked," she said quietly.

"You expect me to do something about it?" he knew she was accusing him of something, in her unobtrusive, silent way.

"No, Delorian. Do yeh think yeh might expect somethin' from yourself?" she sat down softly next to him and hugged her knees.

"There's nothing I can do, Tatra, even if I thought it would make a difference. He'd know and then who knows what he would do."

Tatra sat silent for a moment, "I know. There's nothing I can say anymore; yeh know all the risks and all your options. I know mine. And we just have to work things out for ourselves."

They sat together for a few more moments before the palace shook. Clef had returned. He burst into the throne room, black robes swirling, and eyes like purple fire. The fire spotted them, crouched in the shadow of a pillar across the room. "Delorian!" Clef voiced his name like something between a plea and a wail. Delorian stood and waited for the worst of it.

"She has been turned against me. And I almost had her. I held her in my arms, but that traitor, Lantis, distracted me and her captor stole her away again." Clef stalked to the throne and sat down heavily. Delorian followed him as he was expected to, but he gestured to make sure Tatra stayed in the shadows; the master mage had not seen her.

"How could she listen to their lies?" Clef slumped, his palms to his eyes.

Delorian stepped as close to his master as he dared and said haltingly, "She trusts them too, Clef. She doesn't ... none of the magic knights know what ... know what the others have done ... to us."

Clef lifted his head and spoke without emotion, "And what have they done, Delorian?"

The boy was taken aback. He heard the princess stifle a gasp from behind the pillar. He had not heard Clef so lucid since the presence in the tower had shown itself. He took a breath and answered, "I'm not sure. Don't you know, master?"

Clef squinted at nothing, "I thought I did. I don't remember now." Clef stood now and walked stiffly to a side door. "I think that I must rest now. I am very confused. Perhaps I should speak with my master."

"No, don't!" Delorian cried without thinking. Clef halted and turned back to him, perplexity on his drawn face. "I mean. He has been quiet for most of the day. Perhaps he is resting and would not want to be disturbed."

Clef looked down, "Perhaps. Thank you, Delorian. You're all I have left."

His master left the room and Delorian let out a great cry. It was all there, rage, frustration, uselessness, and the loyalty that bound him in his own personal pit of fire. Tatra stood out of the corner of his eye. He turned to her, feeling the pain etched in his own face, "Tatra, I can't leave him alone like this."

Tatra walked over to him. He saw that she was still shaking, from the fear of Clef finding her there. She put a wavering hand comfortingly on his arm and spoke softly, "I am so sorry, Lori. I truly am."

* * *

They all sat at the large round table in Presea's study; Hikaru, Fuu, Kakeru, Yasuo, Ren, Liesse and himself. Liesse spoke in a slow serious manner. "Thank you for coming. This is a matter of great importance, regarding your journey." She directed her next statement to him, "Lantis, I asked you to be here as well because my information applies to situations arising now and in the aftermath of Umi's attack, while the Magic Knights, all of them, are still here in the fortress." He nodded and waited for her to continue, as did the rest. "Umi, is very important to all of us," Liesse spoke now with less certainty. "But she is also incredibly important to the fate of Cephiro in a way that I can't see yet."

"Umi?" Fuu asked acutely, "I'm sorry but isn't it usually Hikaru that gets singled out?"

Liesse again looked unsure, "That's what the story says. But I know what I've seen. Let me continue. Clef is exceedingly bent on bringing Umi into his power. This must not happen."

"Well, obviously!" Kakeru erupted, immediately silenced by Ren's quiet hand on his arm.

Ren added with quiet words, "Despite the reasons being relatively apparent, why not?'

Liesse appeared even more tentative but spoke succinctly, "It would be bad."

"Why?" Hikaru asked exasperated.

"I don't know."

Kakeru groaned loudly and with anger as he leaped up from his seat and turned from the table, "Come on!" Yasuo got up and turned his friend back to the group.

Liesse was obviously grieved by her own helplessness. She stood and held her hands out to them. "I'm sorry!" she cried, "I only get a little at a time. It's good that we know this much, though."

Lantis leaned forward in his seat, elbows on the table, "How much do we know? What kind of bad? How much of it."

Liesse elaborated as much as she could, "Catastrophic. Possibly. It depends on a number of things I can't see. But if Clef gets her back to where he can have complete control over her things will go way downhill from there and I don't know if they'll ever go up again."

Ren leaned against his chair and said off hand, "Well that's not too bad." They all stared. "So all we do is keep her away from him. Have someone always with her, who can call for help if he shows up, right? And if he doesn't get her, things can't get that bad, can they?"

Fuu looked right at Ren as she spoke, "It's going to be harder than it seems. Umi likes privacy from time to time."

"And she's extraordinarily stubborn when she wants something," Hikaru added.

"She'll fight us," Fuu continued, "especially because we won't be able to tell her why none of us can leave her alone."

For the few confused faces in the room Kakeru explained, "Because, then she'll blame herself even more for everything that's going on."

Fuu concluded, "And she may end up pushing all of us away, and then there would be nothing we could do to keep her from Clef."

Lantis leaned back as Ren had done, "When she wakes you'll have to leave as soon as possible. We'll send Ascot after you every few days, to make sure nothing bad has happened. And that will have to be it, there's nothing else we can do." Most of them around the table nodded and began to leave in twos and threes. Hikaru stayed for him. "Poor Umi," she said from the other side of the table. He took her hand and kissed it gently, "I'm glad it's not you this time."

"Lantis," she admonished.

"I am," he spoke sadly for he was not happy that any of this was happening. He had thought hard on what Clef had said. And looking down at the love of his long life he saw that potential in himself.


	15. Trust

Realized I made a mistake so I replaced this document, haha. Now it's better. READ ADND REVIEW!

Hikaru watched her lover suspiciously as they made their way through the narrow hallways and passages of the fortress. Where they were going she did not know, she followed him in all things now. She only wanted to please him, to make sure that he would have her, when no one else would have. She had told herself in Tokyo that she had stayed true to Lantis out of pure love for him, and that was partly true. But as she got older and grew a little farther away from Cephiro and those who lived there – she realized now – that she might have entered into a relationship, if any had been offered. The lack of interest in her as a girlfriend had made it easier to stay committed to the man she had left in Cephiro. And belatedly she realized that part of the reason she had been so mad at Umi was that she just didn't want to acknowledge that same longing in herself; the longing to move on, to have a life on Earth. But now that she was here, in the place she had dreamed of for seven years, she was even more unsure of what she wanted.

She gazed up at him. No, she knew she wanted him. He was everything to her now. Yet he was subdued. "Lantis," she asked cautiously as they tread the hallways, "Where are we going."

He stopped abruptly, "I don't know. I was just … I was distracted."

"Something's wrong," not a question.

He looked away, down the passage where they had come from.

"What is it?" she prodded.

He looked down on her, "I told you that I was glad it was not you that was singled out of the three this time around."

"Yes?" she stared back at him hard. He was not touching her. He usually took her hands or caressed her cheek when they spoke face to face. He was distant and unsure, not like himself.

"I said that and I meant it. Because … Clef told me he hated me because I was strong enough."

He backed away from her now. There was pain in his eyes and his stance. She tried to get closer to him, but he kept backing away.

"But what if I hadn't been? What if it was me instead of him?"

She was so confused, "Lantis, you're scaring me. What are talking about? What did he mean by 'strong enough?"

There was a long pause before he spoke, "Strong enough to wait so long. For Umi, for you."

With an intake of breath, she stopped moving toward him. They both stood completely still, facing each other in the dim hallway. Hikaru inhaled deeply, taking what he had said in with the air. It was too much. They stood silent for too long. She didn't know what to say except, "It isn't you."

"Yes, but …"

"You were strong enough."

"But I wouldn't have been without …"

Almost anticipating what he was going to say, she paced the distance that divided them and caught his face between her hands, "I'm here now. Nothing else matters."

* * *

Ren leaned against the wall in the second room allotted to Kakeru and Umi. He watched his new companion and Fuu, each sitting on either side of the unconscious blue-haired woman in the bed. Kakeru leaned in close to his fiancée's quiet face, sitting on the edge of his chair he was too tense, still angry. "It's going to be fine, Kakeru," Ren said softly. 

"You don't know that," he answered quickly and harshly, ready to lash out at anything.

"That doesn't matter," Fuu interjected, "What all of us keep forgetting is that Cephiro is the land of the will. If you want something to happen enough, it just might. We can't let fear or depression or worry overwhelm our goals here."

Kakeru straightened in his chair; his hard gaze fixed on his sister's friend, a woman he had obviously known for a long time. "And what are our goals here, Fuu? What exactly are we going to do? Become Magic Knights? Then what?" Ren wondered at the relationship between the two, of the three girls Fuu was the only one who was not intimately connected with Kakeru.

"We confront Clef and discover what's been happening in the palace. And go home, if we can."

"If we can?" Ren was startled by this possibility. "I thought this was a set thing. We do what we have to and go back when we're done."

Fuu answered with the worry she had warned against in her gaze, "We don't know who brought us here."

Kakeru was more alert to the conversation now, his brow furrowed in consternation, "So?"

"No one in the fortress wished for our help, let alone new Magic Knights," Fuu got up and started pacing, "Umi was right in the beginning. What use are Magic Knights to a Cephiro without a pillar? Why bring me, Hikaru, and Umi here, if there have to be new Knights? Nothing makes sense. And no one is sure whether it's only Clef who's behind all this."

Kakeru looked down and away, "Yeah, Lantis was telling me after the attack …"

* * *

"… He's had no direction. Nothing he attempts seems to have any kind of purpose, except misery to those who left the palace. He doesn't target any villages unless there's someone he wants there." Umi woke to Kakeru's voice, hushed yet angry. He was pissed off, she knew. Not at her, but at Clef. Yet it had been her fault, she had gotten hurt because she had been careless. She shouldn't have let her guard down. 

"It's like he's trying to get revenge for something that never happened," Ren's quiet observation from the opposite wall. She couldn't see him. She knew if she moved her head would pound with the effects of Clef's blow. She had been hit with that kind of force before. She had fought Alcione more than once, who had used some of the same power as her former teacher. She let them continue, not wanting to halt a discussion on this subject that was actually going somewhere.

Fuu's voice came from her left. "Ren," she breathed, "you're right. He's obviously mad. What if he believes something happened that didn't."

Then Umi realized something, "We don't even know what really happened that day. No one told us why they left, how it happened." She sat up quickly, instantly regretting it, as she knew she would, especially when all three faces turned back to her in surprised concern. Her hand to her head she nodded and smiled and reassured everyone. Kakeru kissed her repeatedly and Fuu asked what happened.

"I was napping, and when I woke up he was here. He was holding my hand. He said he wanted to leave with me and I asked him if we could stay here instead. I begged him to stay. I thought if he would stay we could help him. But he went crazy. He said every one here were his betrayers and I believed their lies. When I told him I thought they must be telling the truth he hit me. I didn't see it coming at all." She grabbed Kakeru's hand and apologized, "I never would have tried it if I thought that he would hit me. He was always talking about protecting me. I thought even if he was mad his madness wouldn't allow him to hurt me, if it was centered around me. I was wrong. I should never have …"

Kakeru held her again, "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong."

Fuu put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "The important thing is that you thought it through. That he doesn't have some sort of power over you. He hasn't tried any kind of magic to gain influence over you."

Umi jerked away from Kakeru, she felt the fear wrench through her body and settle in her chest. "C-could he do that?"

Ren stepped away from the wall and stood leaning against the baseboard of the bed. He and Fuu exchanged quick glances, "Liesse talked with all of us while you were unconscious." Kakeru watched his companion closely as Ren continued, "It is a possibility. None of us want that to happen."

Fuu took up the explanation, "So we're all going to help look out for you." She stroked Umi's back comfortingly, "But you have to be more careful as well. None of us know what Clef is capable of now. He's proving that more and more."

Umi breathed in deeply, steeling herself to yet another threat on her life as she knew it. Why was this happening to her?

* * *

Caldina came in to help Umi to the bath, so that she could wash herself and help and soak her aching body, for Fuu's wind could only heal the sores. His fiancée reached for his hand to steady her, but Kakeru held back and said, "Ren, why don't you go with them. I'll be down in a second," he kissed her on the cheek saying afterward, "I swear, I'm not going anywhere." Ren crinkled his forehead at him, but helped her out the door anyway, with Caldina holding her on the other side. 

Fuu stayed back, anticipating his desire. "I thought we agreed not to tell her. You understood as well as I did what the consequences would be. I saw that look between you two, but Ren doesn't understand her the way we do," he watched her as she smoothed the bedding absently.

She looked up, "I think Ren understands more than any of us would expect. And he came up with a perfect solution; if she thinks that this attention has to do with only her and not the whole of Cephiro, she can't feel that guilt." Fuu cocked her head, challengingly, "I thought you trusted him."

Kakeru glared at her, "I do. But I'm not so sure about you."

"When are you going to forgive me for him? Now you know why it happened."

"What are you talking about? I never knew why? He loved you Fuu, there was no reason …"

She broke of his outburst coldly, "If you don't realize now you will soon. You're smarter than you let on Kakeru." She stared proudly at him for a few more moments before turning and leaving him in the abandoned room, wondering how Cephiro had anything to with Seiho Harada.


	16. Kitchen Conversations

Been a long time. I like it. Relationships are coming along nicely, and isn't that what this is all about, relationships? It has come to my attention I'm supposed to put up a disclaimer. Okay.

** I don't own Rayearth** or anything CLAMP has ever produced, if I did, their endings probably wouldn't suck so much, in my humble opinion. Enjoy!

Hikaru couldn't sleep. Lantis lay next to her heavily, his breathing deep and hollow. His words that day echoed through her mind. What if it had been him? What had stopped that from happening? And what had kept him strong enough? Hikaru's imagination repeatedly filled the blank in the statement she hadn't allowed him to finish. She didn't know if she regretted that decision. A part of her burned with a desperate curiosity to find out what had kept him going all those years, while another feared the answer he would give. She didn't really want to know, did she? All sorts of answers to the question she couldn't ask crept in and out of her mind until she tossed and turned so much she felt him stir. The last thing she wanted was to have him confront her, or ask tenderly what was troubling her. And so she eased out of his bed painstakingly slowly and dressed in the dark.

As she walked quietly down the torch-lit passageways she remembered with relief that she and her companions from Tokyo would be setting out for the shrines first thing the next morning. She only had to get through Lantis' goodbye without letting him know that this was bothering her so much, or at least without allowing him to corner her about it. Was this what their relationship was coming to, after less than a week together? She didn't want to hide anything from him, but answering these questions that she had would just hurt him more.

The lights were lit in the kitchen. It looked like she would have company after all.

"Morning," Yasuo greeted her.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Not yet dawn. Don't ask me for numbers; I've got no idea." He shrugged and offered her a piece of the sandwich he had thrown together from leftovers of the previous meal.

Hikaru shook her head and sat down across the large table from him. She wasn't hungry, yet.

There was an awkward silence. "Can't sleep?" he asked.

"Guess not."

"Any special reason?"

Strangely, Hikaru felt like being honest, "I'm worried about me and Lantis."

Yasuo choked on his sandwich, "Really?"

Hikaru laughed, "Unbelievable right? Yeah. It's just something he said that I can't get out of my mind."

"Wanna tell me what it is?"

Hikaru shook her head. She felt like Lantis' desperate confession was too private for him and too recent for her to speak about. And she realized, she didn't really know Yasuo that well.

"I don't really know you all that well, Yas."

He looked up startled, "Is that why you don't want to talk to me about it?"

"Oh no! No, that's not what I meant," she reddened, embarrassed. "Well, I guess it's partly true. But no, I just thought – I don't know you that well."

"Okay."

"I mean, we should _get_ to know each other," she chirped.

"Um, okay."

Silence.

* * *

Umi rolled over on top of Kakeru. "Do you know how hungry I am?" she whispered in his ear.

"I suppose I'm about to find out," he mumbled into the pillow.

"Come on," she poked him in the ribs, "We can get an early start on everybody."

As she pulled him out of bed he muttered, "Glad you're feeling better."

* * *

Fuu woke early, as usual. Well, maybe a little earlier than usual. She didn't know what the matter was. Everything seemed wrong, now that she had come back to Cephiro. She laughed quietly at herself. She had just begun to straighten out her life in Tokyo. The room was dark, and she didn't light a lamp as she dressed in the clothes that Sierra had given her and all the knights from Tokyo. No one saw the point of them traipsing around Cephiro in the clothes they had visited Tokyo tower in. Her new garments were a combination of homespun wool-type material and a cotton-ish cloth in green, of course. Fuu smiled as she dressed and her mood lightened: she liked feeling like a real Cephiran.

She stepped out of her room and shut the door as quietly as possible. Fuu glanced down the hall and jumped.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Ren stood in the passageway, wrapping a black cloth tight around his forearm; for the knives, she realized. Ren must use a style where he keeps the blades close against his arms. "We just keep running into each other," he said after an awkward silence. He didn't sound happy about it.

She looked down the other end of the passage and mumbled as she turned back to him, "Small fortress." He laughed out loud. Feeling better about their relationship, she smiled back and they walked down toward the kitchen together.

* * *

The silence continued until Yasuo started choking on his sandwich, again. How embarrassing, Hikaru had to hit him on the back repeatedly before he coughed up the hunk of meat that was stuck in his windpipe.

Kakeru stood in the door and laughed at him. Umi stood behind her fiancé, looking worried, while Yasuo felt his face getting hotter and hotter. "Okay, okay, 'Keru. It wasn't that funny."

Kakeru continued to laugh silently, leaning against the doorframe, while Umi moved into the kitchen and took the stairs down into the pantry.

"Come on, Hikaru," she said from the pit in the stone wall, "We're going to make some real breakfast."

Kakeru quit chuckling long enough to wheeze, "You aren't letting Hikaru near food are you?"

"Don't worry," Umi replied, carrying a basket of eggs and a sac of something else out of the pantry, "I'm going to supervise."

* * *

Ren liked walking next to her. Their hands brushed, yet he didn't like the little clench he felt in his gut as she quickly, but inconspicuously, raised hers to fix a stray hair, keeping it well out of his reach. This was not supposed to happen. Why had he been pulled into this? Just so he could be tortured by some girl, who basically stole his life?

That was unfair and totally impossible. But was with the similarities in their pasts? It couldn't just be coincidence, could it? Too many questions, to which he had too few answers. He didn't like this feeling, it was dangerous.

He saw her looking at him, "Where are we headed?"

She smiled, "To the kitchen, don't you remember the way?"

He hadn't noticed where they were before. He recognized the way now, though he pretended he didn't, forcing a laugh.

"You're lying," she saw through it. "I don't know why."

They stopped walking. "Habit," he shrugged.

She stared at him. He didn't like the way her beautiful round eyes stared at him. "I don't know what that means," she responded.

"It doesn't mean anything," he lied.

"It does," she was wonderful. "Why do you hide how bright you are?" she asked, reaching out to him. He flinched back – reflex – and she stopped, almost realizing what she had done wrong. He had to do something.

Ren reached out, and pulled her toward the door, "Why do you hide how hungry you are?" He pinched her, teasing, and somehow they fell laughing into the kitchen. And faced all four of their companions' astonished faces.

But he relaxed; it had been too close,

Hikaru looked like she was about to burst, "Fuuuuuu –" she started, but Umi elbowed her in the ribs before she said another word. Ren was glad, neither of them were ready to answer the question Hikaru was about to ask.


	17. Kitchen Revelations

While Umi and Hikaru mixed ingredients together and got the fire in the stove roaring, the other four settled themselves at the table to wait. Kakeru dropped next to Yasuo and tore a piece from his friend's mostly-eaten sandwich. Yasuo glared at him while Ren and Fuu sat down on the other side of the long kitchen work table.

"I don't know very much about you, Yasuo," Fuu broke the silence.

"That's just what I was saying before we were rudely interrupted," Hikaru said from the end of the table where she vigorously stirred a batter of some sort.

"Hey, why don't we do like a meet-and-greet – introduce ourselves?" Kakeru suggested.

Fuu shook her head, too solemn to be serious. "Ren doesn't want to," she teased, "He likes being the dark mysterious type." Everyone but Kakeru seemed taken aback at the amount of ease Fuu seemed to be with Ren. All of them had known him a total of three days.

Yet Kakeru pressed, "No, no, it'll be cool. I'll go first: my name is Kakeru Shidou. I'm twenty-four. I'm engaged to the lovely Umi. Hikaru's my little sister. Our family owns a kendo dojo. And last year I started my own branch downtown."

Hikaru raised her hand from the dough she had started rolling, "Me next! I'm Hikaru Shidou. I'm twenty-one years old. I work part-time at our family's dojo. I'm taking classes at our community college to be a veterinary technician. And I train seeing-eye dogs in my spare time. Now you Umi."

"What? Oh," she looked up from the eggs she was frying and pushed some hair out of her face, "My name is Umi Ryuzaki. I'm twenty-one. I'm engaged to Kakeru. And I'm in my third year at Tokyo U. I'm studying to be an elementary school teacher – I like kids." She shrugged and turned back to the eggs.

"My name is Fuu Houogi. I'm twenty-one years old. I'm in the pre-med program at Tokyo University. And I'm currently interning in a medical research lab."

Ren looked around, he was next and he knew just what to say. "I'm Ren Sato. I'm twenty-two. And I work as a mechanic in my neighbor's repair shop."

"Is that it?" Fuu poked him.

"Hey, I gave as much information as you did."

Kakeru joked, "You were expecting some sort of revelation?" Fuu crossed her arms and Hikaru stuck her tongue out at him. Kakeru winked at her, and then turned to his friend, "Hey we saved the best for last, Yas'"

"Yeah, yeah," Yasuo said, resigned, "My name is Yasuo Sengiku. I'm twenty-five. And I teach junior high school girls math and science." While they were speaking Fuu had stood to find plates for them all. She set a place before each as Umi deposited eggs on each dish and went to retrieve the cakes from the oven.

As they all prepared to dig in Kakeru leaned closer to his fiancé and asked, "These are going to better than the ones I tried to make, right?"

She responded lovingly, "You are such an idiot."

"You made her cakes, Kakeru?" Hikaru exclaimed.

"Tried and failed miserably."

Fuu interjected, "Actually don't feel bad. They're deceptively hard to pull off properly. Me and Hikaru have both tried with mixed results."

Proud of herself Hikaru boasted, "I came the closest. I … Lantis!"

He stood in the doorway, looking uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Please continue."

"Oh," she seemed distracted as she did as he asked, "Well, I … No, I have to talk to you." She stood, apologizing to her comrades and left with Lantis.

* * *

As they walked trough the dim passageways of the early morning Lantis gazed at her. "I woke up and you weren't there so I came to find you. You didn't have to leave breakfast."

"No, Lantis," Hikaru stopped him as they entered the pillared corridor. "Remember when I told you that it didn't matter why or how you avoided becomingly like Clef. Figuratively of course, I don't think you would have done what Clef has done no matter what. But, I think I need do need to know. It does matter."

He looked away as he said, "I know it does. It does because while you waited so long for me – seven years – I didn't wait. She had loved me for so long and had stayed beside me though I constantly denied her. She was there and two years ago, I just couldn't say no to her anymore. I was … No, there's no excuse."

"Primera," Hikaru knew.

"Hikaru, I know it seemed like she always hated you, but it's not true. They are simple creatures, fairies, with simple desires. You were an obstacle to her desire and regardless she respected you. We spoke of you often, even before we …" he stopped there, not knowing what to say. "Don't blame her."

Hikaru stared at the forest through the pillars. Motionless, she said, "I don't."

"Hikaru?"

"I need time, Lantis. It's good you told me this now. We can spend sometime apart and meet again when are heads are together," she turned away and began to leave.

"Hikaru," he cried, startled and distraught.

"You said it yourself, Lantis. I waited. I waited for you."

"There was never an understanding between us."

"There wasn't? I don't remember anymore. I just know that I waited."

He stood back, head bowed, "I know."

* * *

The meal completed, the Magic Knights, present and former relaxed in the kitchen in the Fortress of Silence and were anything but. "So how did you guys meet?" Ren asked pointing at the soon-to-be-married couple.

Umi spoke first, "Well we had known each other for a while before we got together, him being Hikaru's brother and all."

"Umi and Fuu were always at the dojo the first year after they met. They got to be like family for a while," Kakeru continued.

"Then things got busy at school and we stopped coming around as often. Fuu and I ended up going to the same high school. And our sophomore year, this guy in the grade above us really liked Fuu. Seiho was his name. Anyway, Seiho really liked Fuu and it turned out Seiho was taking classes from Kakeru's father and he and Kakeru were like this," Umi crossed her fingers, indicating they were tight. "Do you wanna tell this part, 'Keru."

"Nah, you're on a roll."

"So Seiho figures out Kakeru knows us and he begs – I mean really down on the floor grovels – that Kakeru will hook him and Fuu up. Now Kakeru knows Fuu and he knows she's not going to go on a date all by herself with a guy she doesn't know and has barely spoken to. But he also knows she and Seiho are really going to get along. So he calls me up and we have double date and we've been together ever since."

"Just like that?" Yasu jokes, having heard the story before.

Kakeru chuckles, "No, man. You should have seen Umi that night. I couldn't take my eyes off of her."

Fuu laughed with him, "Yeah, Seiho was pissed at you. I remember him telling me later it was supposed to be his date, not yours."

Kakeru smiled wanly remembering their earlier argument, "He could never stay mad at anyone for long."

"Past-tense? He just went to New York, 'Keru. He's not dead," Yasuo clarified for Ren's sake.

"Well, we all know why he left."

Fuu defended herself, "He wasn't mad, Kakeru."

"No, just heart broken."

"Kakeru," Umi warned, hand on his arm as he stood.

And Ferio walked in. Ren heard Fuu groan under her breath. This is certainly interesting, he thought amidst the awkward silence that ensued.

Kakeru looked up as Ferio entered. It hit him like a wave and nearly knocked him down; the uncanny resemblance, his crooked and sleepy grin, his cocky and swaggering walk, his rough and tumble voice as he spoke shifting his eyes to look at each person in the room, "Mornin'."

"Seiho," he breathed and cast a quick glance at Fuu as he remembered what Seiho had told him. "She said it wasn't fair to me. To me! That it wasn't me she really loved. Did you hear that 'Keru? She never loved me." Seiho had gone to Fuu again and again, begging her to take him back. She wouldn't. And Kakeru never understood why until now. It was Ferio, the whole time. And though he wanted to keep the attention of this revelation on his friend, he remembered his sister and how long she had waited for the one she loved from Cephiro. Both Hikaru and Fuu had never abandoned the men they found here. What about Umi?

Caldina followed Ferio in, followed by Lafarga and Corsica. They all took part in the scraps left over of the Magic Knight's meal as Umi stood to help Caldina prepare another. Fuu stood as the room came alive with people from all corners of the fortress and spoke over the bustle, "Why don't we get what few belongings we have together and meet in the courtyard entrance. We should leave as soon as possible." They all agreed and went their separate ways.

* * *

When Kakeru reached his room he paced. He didn't have anything to pack anyway. His sword, really the only thing he needed, was in his wrist or whatever. But their something he didn't want lurking in his heart, doubt. What if he was just a copy of this Clef person? He hadn't seen the man for long and everyone said he had changed significantly.

Umi entered, "Kakeru," she began in a tone he recognized, "I saw you looking at Ferio. I think he was kind of creeped out. But, did you only realize just now?" He nodded and she went on cautiously. "I geuss Seiho has been pretty far from your mind right now. I didn't see it when I first met him either. Only after they started dating did I understand."

"The stupid thing is … I don't think he would have cared even if she had told him why she was with him. He was that crazy about her."

"I know." She brushed the hair back from his face, gently soothing, "That's what made it so hard for her to say no so many times."

"She's deceptive."

"What?"

He laughed, "I mean she's deceptively strong. You'd never guess looking at her, speaking to her."

Umi smiled, "We all have our hidden talents. And secrets tend to make themselves known in Cephiro."

Kakeru backed away from her and went to make the bed. She crossed her arms and peered at him, "That's not all that's bother you, is it?"

He didn't answer.

"Kakeru!"

He sighed and looked up from the throw he was folding, "I'm an idiot, Umi."

"Yeah, and?"

"Fuu and Hikaru. Ferio and Lantis. None of them could let go of each other. What about Clef? Or Ascot even, hell I don't know!"

"What about them?" she strode over to him, her eyes fierce and demanding.

"What am I supposed to think?"

Umi spoke flatly and accusatory, "That I'm not exactly like my friends."

"Look, all three of you went through a lot with these people. How is what I've given you supposed to measure up to … I don't know, magic, a grand epic, adventure and …"

"Tragedy, heartbreak, violence, and murder," Tears welled in her eyes, "Sure it seems like it was a great time and there was fun and friendship. But I never wanted it again. I never wanted to come back. That's why I'm different from them, Kakeru. I love you because you saved me from this. From longing for a place I never truly loved because it was better than home with the divorce everything. You're my home now, not my parents house, not Cephiro, you. I'll say it again because you never seem to get it, I love you."

Kakeru wiped her tears with his thumb and lifted her chin gently, "I'm sorry."

She laughed, "Don't be sorry. Just stop being stupid."

"Hey, I'm in love. I can't make any guarantees."

* * *

**So yeah. It took a while, but this is it. Hope you enjoyed.**


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